Paris, March 20 — A French naval sailor’s activity on a public fitness-tracking app exposed the real-time position of the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle in the Mediterranean, Le Monde reported, highlighting an operational security lapse as tensions rise in West Asia.
Le Monde says the exposure occurred after the sailor used a smartwatch to record a 36-minute run on March 13, covering more than four miles on the carrier’s deck. The geotagged workout placed the almost 900-foot vessel near Cyprus, roughly 62 miles off the Turkish coast. The disclosure came after France had announced the carrier’s deployment on March 3.
The fitness service involved reportedly has about 120 million users and allows runners and cyclists to share workouts that include location data — a feature that has previously raised security concerns for military personnel. Le Monde additionally reported at least one other public profile posting geotagged workouts from a different French Navy ship on active duty, including images showing the deck, crew members and onboard exercise equipment.
French authorities have faced similar problems before: security staff connected to President Emmanuel Macron and other world leaders have at times used such apps in ways that exposed sensitive locations. In a prior case, a security agent associated with a US presidential visit publicly shared a running route that enabled observers to identify the visit’s location.
The French Armed Forces General Staff told Le Monde the sailor breached digital security rules by sharing the run and said “appropriate measures will be taken by the command.”
The report arrives amid a period of heightened regional tension. It followed US and Israeli airstrikes on Iran by about two weeks and occurred in a climate of recent drone attacks: one-way attack drones struck a British base in Cyprus, an incident Reuters, citing Cypriot officials, said likely targeted the UK facility and was probably carried out by Iranian-backed Hezbollah using an Iranian Shahed-series drone. After that strike, the UK deployed surface-to-air missile systems, helicopters and the Type 45 destroyer HMS Dragon to Cyprus. Separately, US President Donald Trump has urged allies to strengthen protection of the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic shipping route under pressure amid escalating Gulf tensions.
Le Monde’s reporting underlines continuing concerns about the operational security risks posed by publicly shared location data and the need for personnel on active duty to adhere to digital-security rules.
