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France on Thursday (Aug 13) prepared to beef up its military presence in the Mediterranean as tensions rose, prompting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to warn of a "heavy price" if a Turkish ship exploring for gas in disputed waters is attacked. Tensions between Paris and Ankara increased with the latest French announcement linked to an escalating row in the eastern Mediterranean between Turkey and Greece over gas reserves. France criticised its NATO ally Turkey over a drone strike this week in northern Iraq, while Erdogan accused French counterpart Emmanuel Macron of seeking to "bring back a colonialist structure" as he visited Lebanon after last week's catastrophic Beirut explosions. The United States meanwhile called for a rapprochement, describing France and Turkey as "incredibly important NATO allies"//AFP