France, Britain strike security pacts as Brexit tensions persist

Britain is offering helicopters to help transport French troops deployed in the Sahel to fight Islamist terror networks — a welcome addition for France's military, which is undergoing spending cuts, said analyst Sophia Besch of the CER. "France is very keen to get other European partners on board to support it in its operations in Africa, in the Sahel," she said. "You can hear sometimes French officials say that, yes there is an EU army, and it's French.' So, there is this sense that the other Europeans need to step up, that all this responsibility can't just be on France. And if the UK is willing to do it, then that's great."..."NATO still remains the main structure for operations in Europe, the bedrock of European security," said Besch. "And Germans and the French say that too. But on the other hand, the French in particular are pursuing what they call strategic autonomy so the European ability to act without the United States. And that's something that the UK has been fairly critical of in the past."