- By Shivangi Sharma
- Sun, 23 Nov 2025 03:51 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
A day after a Pakistani news channel claimed that a French naval commander had endorsed Pakistan Air Force’s “superior handling” of the May 2025 conflict with India following the Pahalgam terror attack, France has issued a rare and unequivocal rebuttal. The Marine Nationale, the naval arm of the French Armed Forces, publicly dismissed the report as “misinformation” and denied that any such statement was ever made.
In a post on X, the French Navy called out the false claims circulated by Geo TV and its senior journalist Hamid Mir. “These statements were attributed to Captain Launay who never gave his consent for any form of publication. The article contains extensive misinformation and disinformation,” the Marine Nationale wrote, adding the hashtag #FakeNews to underline the seriousness of its objection.
[#FAKENEWS] These statements were attributed to Captain Launay who never gave his consent for any form of publication.
— Marine nationale (@MarineNationale) November 22, 2025
The article contains extensive misinformation and disinformation. pic.twitter.com/crVrFFABkx
Pakistani Media Story Flagged As ‘Fake News’
The French Navy’s post also highlighted the article in question, titled “French commander confirms Pakistan air superiority in May 2025 combat with India.” This direct and public repudiation is a diplomatic setback for Pakistan, whose media has frequently amplified unverified or exaggerated narratives surrounding India’s Rafale fighter jets.
Geo TV’s report had claimed that Captain Launay, a French naval commander, confirmed Pakistan’s “air superiority” in the brief May 2025 skirmish, even alleging the downing of multiple Indian Rafale jets. According to Hamid Mir’s account, Launay supposedly credited Pakistan’s reported success to its “better handling of the battle situation” rather than to any technological edge held by its Chinese-origin J-10C fighters.
How The Report Spread
The report, filed from an Indo-Pacific security conference in Paris, rapidly went viral across Pakistani media platforms and was touted as evidence of Pakistan’s tactical dominance over India.
This is not the first time Hamid Mir, one of Pakistan’s most prominent journalists, has faced allegations of sensationalism or misinformation. Despite the French Navy’s direct challenge to his claims, Mir has not issued any response or clarification so far.