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The French Navy has categorically denied Pakistani media reports claiming that France confirmed the loss of Indian Rafale fighter jets during the May 2025 India-Pakistan conflict – Operation Sindoor. The clarification comes after Pakistani channel Geo TV published statements attributed to a French naval officer suggesting that Pakistan had achieved aerial superiority over India.
The French Navy’s official X (Twitter) handle, Marine Nationale, dismissed the report as “fake news” and accused Pakistani media of circulating “extensive misinformation and disinformation.” The Navy stated that the remarks were incorrectly attributed to French Commander Captain Jaquis Launay, who neither authorised nor made any such statements.
Geo TV had claimed that Captain Launay had endorsed Pakistan’s claims of shooting down an Indian Rafale and asserted that the Pakistan Air Force was “better prepared” during the engagement. The article also argued that the alleged loss of the Indian jet was unrelated to the capabilities of China-supplied J-10C fighters.
However, the French Navy’s rebuttal firmly rejected the claims, noting that the report was fabricated and intended to spread falsehoods about the conflict.
Defence experts note that this situation highlights Pakistan’s longstanding reliance on information warfare. Pakistan employs tactics of misinformation and disinformation and invests significantly in these efforts. The latest controversy serves as another example of how Pakistan’s attempts to create a narrative of victory have fallen apart under close scrutiny.
Additionally, observers pointed out that sympathetic Chinese social media accounts amplified this misinformation campaign by circulating similar claims, aiming to undermine the credibility of the Indian military. The US’s recent report established this theory in detail. The controversy sparked widespread criticism online, with several users pointing to Pakistan’s history of unverifiable military assertions.
India launched Operation Sindoor in May 2025 following the terrorist attack in Pahalgam, which killed 26 people, most of them tourists. The Indian military operation inflicted significant losses on Pakistani assets before a ceasefire was reached at Islamabad’s request.
Since then, several Pakistani outlets have attempted to claim tactical successes during the confrontation, claims repeatedly contradicted by Indian and international sources.
With the French Navy’s public denial, Pakistan’s narrative of shooting down a Rafale during Operation Sindoor faces a major credibility setback. The incident reinforces concerns about the growing use of information warfare in the region, where misinformation now plays a decisive role in shaping public perception alongside battlefield realities.
Team BharatShakti
