The French army is setting up a special strike force which will be ready to intervene abroad and especially in order to protect the oil fields supplying France and other West European countries. The strike force is being set up by the French Ministry of Defense, but according to reliable reports, no basic political decision has been taken at the Presidential level on where, when and how it will be used. The force, which will consist of volunteers, will be ready to be used only on major occasions and on the President’s orders. France intervened in Zaire and in Chad last year with forces supplied by its airborne divisions and special paratroop units.
JTA Archive
JULY 11, 1979
