The announcement was made on Tuesday by the chief of staff of the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Evacuees from Kabul disembark at the French military base of Al Dhafra, in Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates), on August 23, 2021. (BERTRAND GUAY / AFP) |
The countdown is on for Afghan refugees and French nationals in Afghanistan who wish to flee the country. If the United States maintains its objective of total withdrawal of American troops on August 31, "in terms of back-planning, that means that our operation [of the airlift and evacuations] ends Thursday evening," explained the director of Cabinet of the Minister, Nicolas Roche, to Prime Minister Jean Castex, Tuesday, August 24, in the presence of journalists.
Visiting the Crisis and Support Center (CDCS) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the head of government stressed the need "to distinguish between emergencies, which requires rapid responses, from the rest" . The CDCS has thus received nearly 120,000 calls since the start of the bridge, "90% to 95% of the calls are from Afghan refugees in France who are worried about their families," according to the ministry. The Quai d'Orsay has also identified 62 French people who remain to be evacuated.