Strikes in the Middle East: the CGT of merchant navy officers denounces facts "extremely serious" and does not exclude an evacuation of French sailors

Emmanuel Chalard, general secretary of the CGT Federation of merchant marine officers, denounces the facts on Thursday June 11 on franceinfo “extrêmement graves” after another night of American bombings in Iran, to which Tehran responded by striking its Gulf neighbors and Jordan. Iran announced the total closure of the Strait of Hormuz “until further notice”. Donald Trump vowed Thursday to strike “très fort” Iran in the evening and threatened to take control of its oil sites, after new strikes from both camps during the night. “If there were threats to sites near which French ships would be too close, obviously these ships would have to be evacuated”warns Emmanuel Chalard.

“The calls of international institutions and federations, maritime unions are not heard”deplores Emmanuel Chalard who recalls that “40 civilian sailors died” since the start of the conflict in the Middle East, “mainly Indian sailors who are the most affected”. “These latest strikes are particularly violent since they are planes which directly targeted civilian ships with missiles”regrets the general secretary of the CGT Federation of merchant marine officers who denounces attacks “disproportionnées” et “inadmissible”.

Emmanuel Chalard explains that the French sailors who are currently in the region are “en sécurité” in the territorial waters of the Gulf countries but it describes a “protection relative” car “this remains an area which has been classified as a war zone”. A crisis unit is at their disposal to have “psychological or even medical support” et “refueling is done correctly”according to him. However, he asserts that “the situation is becoming very critical to have volunteers” and that he is “difficult to find sailors” to ensure succession.