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French President Emmanuel Macron attends a working session during the NATO summit held in Ankara, Turkiye, on July 8 (local time). / Photo by AFP via Yonhap News Agency

France announced on July 8 (local time) the deployment of its ground troops to Finland for the Swedish-led Forward Land Forces (FLF) mission, Le Monde and Reuters reported.

France, which has already deployed troops to Romania and the Baltic states, will now participate in NATO's rotational deployment within Finland with this decision. While the specific scale of the deployment was not disclosed, France plans to provide local military training along with the rotationally deployed forces, including combat units.

The Finland FLF is a multinational allied battlegroup operated by NATO to defend the eastern flank—countries bordering Russia—and deter Russian provocation. It was established last June to strengthen the defense capabilities of Finland and Sweden, which recently joined NATO.

Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Finland and Sweden abandoned their long-standing policy of military non-alignment and joined NATO in 2023 and 2024, respectively.

French President Emmanuel Macron stated via social media that French forces will contribute to the security of the European Arctic. He also emphasized that by joining hands with Finland and Sweden to send a newly established unit to the Russian border, France has become one of the core allies contributing first to this mission.

Finnish Defense Minister Antti Häkkänen assessed that the establishment of the FLF has advanced further with France's deployment, following existing cooperation with Nordic countries, the UK, and Italy.

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson welcomed France's decision but noted that detailed coordination, including the specific stationing location, remains to be finalized. He added that the operational area for this mission spans across the northern regions of all three Nordic countries.

Currently, the core of the Finland FLF consists of 600 Swedish troops stationed in Boden, Sweden, designed to rapidly deploy to Rovaniemi, Finland.

Previously, NATO decided in 2024 to create a multinational rapid response force in Finland, and it currently operates similar forward land forces in Bulgaria, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia.

                                                                                                          Lee Jeong-eun