French Base in Persian Gulf

(Abu Dhabi, UAE) The French have acquired the equivalent of Baltic Avenue on the Middle East Monopoly Game board.

President Nicolas Sarkozy formally opened a French military base in the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday, its first in the oil-rich Gulf, as Paris seeks to land lucrative military contracts and strengthen its foothold in a region just across from Iran.

Sarkozy attended the inauguration ceremony alongside UAE Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Shaikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahayan as the French and UAE flags were raised at the so-called ‘Peace Camp’ in Abu Dhabi, the first to be opened abroad since the end of the colonial era.

The base will host up to 500 troops stationed in three sites on the banks of the strategic Strait of Hormuz, just across from Iran: a navy and logistical base, a desert air base with three fighter planes and a training camp.

It appears that the French base will serve as both a strategic defense position and a de facto satellite marketing office for the nation's aircraft and nuclear industries.

Companion post at The Jawa Report.