People arrive from Dubai at the Charles de Gaulle international airport in Roissy, near Paris, March 5, 2026. THIBAULT CAMUS / AP

Nearly 20,000 French nationals have been repatriated from the Middle East since the war erupted on February 28, government spokeswoman Maud Bregeon said Wednesday, March 11.

The evacuation efforts are ongoing as some 400,000 French citizens lived in or were visiting countries in the Gulf and Middle East when the war between Iran and the United States and Israel broke out.

The government facilitated the return of 2,000 citizens via state-chartered flights, while an additional 17,000 returned on commercial routes between the Middle East and France that resumed at the government's request, Bregeon told reporters after a cabinet meeting.

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