Gulf base shows shift in France's focus

Nicolas Sarkozy, French president, will tomorrow open a French naval base in Abu Dhabi, underlining his country's renewed strategic interests in the Persian Gulf amid tensions over Iran's nuclear ambitions.

The new facility in the United Arab Emirates will support French naval operations in the Gulf and Indian ocean. It is France's first overseas base in 50 years.

Mr Sarkozy is expected to use his visit to Abu Dhabi, beginning today, to lobby on behalf of French companies, including Dassault, the military aircraft maker, and a consortium of Total, GdF-Suez and Areva, which is bidding to build two nuclear power stations in the UAE.