The French ship Languedoc shot down a drone that appeared to be a threat to the CMA CGM Champs Elysee near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait in the Red Sea on October 1, 2026. This incident took place as the CMA CGM Champs Elysee was entering the Red Sea.
Incident Details
According to reports, the incident occurred on the night of October 1 while the CMA CGM Champs Elysee was passing through. The French ship Languedoc targeted the drone using its weapon and brought it down. The vessel, which has a capacity of 23,112 TEU, departed from Singapore on September 20 and is currently heading towards Le Havre after passing through the Suez Canal on October 3.
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Background and Reactions
The French military has emphasized that its navy has been working to maintain security in the Red Sea since the onset of Houthi threats against vessels in late 2023. In this context, France has promised Saudi Arabia support for the protection of the Yanbu port and its oil terminal. Despite the Houthis announcing that they would focus their attacks on vessels associated with Saudi Arabia, the maritime market remains affected by these tensions.
Since late August, the Suez Canal Authority has reported that 199 CMA CGM vessels with a net cargo of 5.2 million tons have passed through the canal. In contrast, in 2025, 212 CMA CGM vessels with a cargo of 18.8 million tons used the same route. Currently, some crew members of the vessels are refraining from traveling due to the security situation in the region, and unions have stated that CMA CGM has paid its crew a "war bonus" of 1500 euros for accepting the journey through the Red Sea.
The EUNAVFOR Aspides operation, as a defensive operation in this area, has supported over 2390 commercial vessels since its inception in February 2024 and has provided close protection for more than 720 ships. Additionally, discussions are ongoing among EU countries to increase the forces deployed in this operation.
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