France and Greece have further strengthened defense ties, extending their mutual defense agreement from 2021 and signing several cooperation agreements.
French President Emmanuel Macron met with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis at the Maximos Mansion in Athens over the weekend to cement the strategic partnership.
The defense pact, which will be automatically renewed after its expiration in five years, commits either country to aid the other in the face of security threats.
“Don’t even ask yourself the question; whatever happens, we will be there on your side,” Macron said during the joint press conference, as Mitsotakis called France “Greece’s true ally,” Politico reported.
Moreover, both countries’ leaders signed agreements centered on cooperation in several areas, including education, scientific research, and nuclear energy.
Macron and Mitsotakis, along with French Defense and Armed Forces Minister Catherine Vautrin and Naval Group CEO Pierre-Eric Pommelet, also visited the Hellenic Navy’s FDI frigate at the Piraeus port.
Greece is the first export customer of France’s FDI frigate program, being built by French shipbuilder Naval Group.
Athens received its first of four FDI frigates, designated the Kimon-class within the Hellenic Navy, in December 2025.
Missile Support
During the latest visit, MBDA signed a contract to continue support services for the MICA missiles.
Greece has maintained a long-standing relationship with MBDA for over 50 years, becoming the first customer of the Exocet anti-ship missile in 1968.
The country then ordered MICA multi-mission air-to-air missiles in the early 2000s, integrating them into the Hellenic forces’ Mirage 2000-5 and Dassault Rafale fighter jets.
In 2023, MBDA opened a permanent office in Athens to strengthen its support for the Hellenic military and local industry.
Mutual Defense
Both leaders also discussed the European Union’s Article 42.7 mutual defense clause and NATO’s Article 5 collective defense clause.
Macron emphasized Article 42.7 as “clear” with “no room for interpretation or ambiguity,” citing recent joint aid to Cyprus after a drone attack against a British airbase on the island during the US-Israel attacks on Iran as proof.
He said this makes it stronger than NATO’s Article 5, which has been the topic of controversy amid an “increasingly erratic US under Donald Trump,” according to The Guardian.