Macron says France to deploy forces to protect Saudi oil export port

French President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday that France would send military assets to “protect” facilities in Yanbu, western Saudi Arabia, one of the kingdom’s key oil sites on the Red Sea coast.

“This is what we discussed with the Saudis. We will send military assets, namely troops, radars and defence systems, to protect this site, not to engage in any conflict, but to protect the site,” Macron said in an interview with two French television channels.

He said the deployment was also aimed at helping to calm oil markets.

Yanbu is Saudi Arabia’s main port for crude oil exports on the Red Sea and has played a key role during the war in the Middle East amid disruptions to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.

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