French warship shoots drone threatening CMA CGM container ship at Bab el

The Champs Elysées, a liquefied natural gas-powered container ship owned by CMA CGM, narrowly avoided disaster on the night of October 1. The ship, in service since 2020 and with a capacity of 23,000 containers, was targeted with a drone as it sailed through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. Le Monde has learned that the Languedoc, a French Navy frigate escorting the vessel through the strait and the Red Sea, intercepted the approaching drone. The container ship had had to change course and speed. "The French frigate used its gun against a drone deemed threatening and shot it down," the French armed forces general staff confirmed to Le Monde .

Since French President Emmanuel Macron announced on September 24 that France would send defensive military means to Yanbu, Saudi Arabia , to protect the port and its oil terminal, concern has risen a notch among sailors working for the French shipping giant CMA CGM. They fear being targeted by Yemen's Houthi rebels, who are in conflict with Saudi Arabia and have stepped up their attacks. Since September, the Houthis have controlled Yemen's Red Sea coastline as well as the Bab el-Mandeb Strait at the southern mouth of the Red Sea, although they have said they are only targeting ships linked to Saudi interests. The French shipowner has no Saudi-registered vessels in its fleet, but it has invested heavily in the kingdom's ports, notably in Jeddah.