France is present in the region to defend its interests or the interests of countries with which it has agreements. The Charles de Gaulle ship has been deployed for a month in the eastern Mediterranean to try to deter and prevent attacks by Tehran on France’s allies. All of this comes at a cost for the country. BFMTV has calculated how much the war in the Middle East costs France.
Our colleagues simulated the deployment costs based on figures provided by the Senate and the Court of Auditors. Among the quick inventory of forces present on the ground, we find: deployed personnel on naval and air bases, the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier, the eight frigates costing 10,000 euros per day, the 20,000 euros per hour of flight by the Rafale, and the missiles costing between one and three million euros each.
800 million euros spent per day by the United States
According to BFMTV’s estimates of the cost of a month of conflict, the 5,000 military personnel, earning between 1,500 euros and 3,000 euros per month, represent a cost of 11 million euros. Still on a monthly basis, the frigates represent 22 million euros, the use of 6 Rafales for three hours costs 30 million euros. As a result, over a month, the budget for France’s external operations within the war in Iran would be 135 million euros.
This amount should not be compared to that of the United States during the same conflict, which is 800 million euros every day for waging war! This cost should also be put into perspective since France’s annual budget for external operations amounts to one billion euros. Over a month, the cost of France’s external operations is therefore higher than the usual average expenses but is nothing extraordinary in times of conflict.
/2026/04/07/69d55a137d480475790196.jpg "War in the Middle East: lockdown, port at a standstill… a few hours before the end of Donald Ts ultimatum")
