The first flight repatriating French citizens stranded in the Middle East because of the war in Iran landed in Paris on Wednesday.
French authorities booked about 100 seats onboard for vulnerable people on a priority list, the minister responsible for French Nationals Abroad, Eleonore Caroit, said. The plane departed from Muscat, Oman and made a stop in Cairo, Egypt, before touching down at Paris Charles de Gaulle airport, as travel across the region remains heavily disrupted by the widening conflict.
A second flight carrying French citizens, who were based in Israel and managed to cross the border with Egypt, should arrive in France later Wednesday, Caroit said.
“We are focusing on a priority group — families with children, people affected by illness, old people,” she told TF1 broadcaster. “Our goal is to help repatriate as quickly as possible the French people who wish to return.”
