France will send roughly 200 soldiers to northern Sweden, joining a Swedish-led NATO task force responsible for the defense of Finland, under an agreement reached at the NATO summit in Ankara.
The announcement is expected to be presented during a meeting between President Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson on the sidelines of the summit. French officials confirmed the deployment will contribute troops and experts to the FLF Finland force, with the majority of personnel based in Boden and commanded by officers in Rovaniemi, Finland. The soldiers will serve on a rotational basis rather than as a permanent garrison.
The influx has exposed a housing shortage in Boden, with the municipality saying more homes must be built to accommodate arriving personnel.