The French Ambassador to India Alexandre Ziegler refuted a report that Rafale fighter jets in Qatar were being used to train Pakistan officers. He said that this was fake news and officially denied the reports. A media report had earlier alleged that Qatar was given the first lot of Rafale fighter jets and "Pakistani exchange officers" were the first batch of pilots to be trained for Qatar in November 2017. As per reports, the jets were delivered to Qatar as part of Euro 6.3 billion agreement for the purchase of 24 Rafale jets in May 2015. This report came in the midst of a simmering political slugfest over procurement of Rafale jets by the Modi government from France.