French President Macron visits Cyprus to reaffirm strategic partnership

On April 23, 2026, French President Emmanuel Macron conducted the first official visit by a French head of state to Cyprus since 1960. During the visit, Macron reaffirmed France's solidarity with Cyprus, stating that an attack on the island is an attack on Europe. This follows a previous visit by Macron on March 9, 2026, to the Andreas Papandreou Air Base, prompted by a drone attack from Lebanon on the British Akrotiri Base. In response to the earlier attack, Greece deployed four F-16 fighter jets and two frigates, the Kimon and the Psara, to Cyprus. President Nikos Christodoulides described the visit as historic and highlighted the strengthened strategic partnership formalised in Paris in December. Prior to the official visit, French forces conducted joint military exercises with the Cypriot National Guard. Leaders confirmed that cooperation is currently managed under the SAFE mechanism, with an upcoming SOFA agreement scheduled for signature in June to regulate further defense activities.