France says it has seized an oil tanker in the Mediterranean suspected of being part of Russia's sanction-busting "shadow fleet".
French President Emmanuel Macron said the tanker, named the Grinch, was "subject to international sanctions and suspected of flying a false flag".
The French navy, with the assistance of allies, boarded the vessel on Thursday morning between Spain and Morocco. French maritime authorities said that a search of the vessel had "confirmed the doubts as to the regularity of the flag".
Russia's so-called shadow fleet is a clandestine network of tankers used to evade Western sanctions on Russian oil exports.
Announcing the interception on X, Macron said: "We are determined to uphold international law and to ensure the effective enforcement of sanctions.
