France, June 1 -- President Emmanuel Macron announced on Monday that the operation had taken place on Sunday on the high seas in the Atlantic "with the support of several partners, including the United Kingdom".

According to France's Atlantic Maritime Prefecture, the interception was carried out more than 400 nautical miles - around 740 kilometres - west of the tip of Brittany.

The vessel, identified as the Tagor, was travelling from Murmansk in northern Russia.

After an inspection team boarded the tanker, an examination of its papers "confirmed suspicions regarding the irregularity of the flag flown", the authorities said. A report has now been sent to the public prosecutor in Brest, which has jurisdiction under France's maritime cour...