French President Emmanuel Macron gestures before greeting President of Singapore at the Elysée Palace in Paris on March 3, 2026. DIMITAR DILKOFF / AFP
President Emmanuel Macron will visit Cyprus on Monday, March 8, his office said, as France deploys warships to the Mediterranean following a drone attack on the island, which is an EU member, days ago. Macron will meet his Cypriot counterpart Nikos Christodoulides and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in Paphos to show "solidarity" and detail moves to "strengthen security around Cyprus and in the eastern Mediterranean," the Elysée Palace said on Sunday. The visit will take place as the war pitting the United States and Israel against Iran is in its second week, affecting much of the Middle East.
Cyprus on Monday was targeted by Iranian-made drones, leading Macron to order France's Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier to the Mediterranean and a frigate and air defense units to Cyprus. "This trip is intended to demonstrate France's solidarity with Cyprus, a member state of the European Union with which we have a strategic partnership," and which was recently hit "by several drones and missile strikes," the Elysée said. France has insisted its stance in the region is "strictly defensive."
