France will help with the United Arab Emirates' air defence system after a series of ballistic missile and drone attacks launched from Yemen by the Houthi rebels on the Gulf country, its defence minister said on Friday. Paris has close economic and political ties with Abu Dhabi and has a permanent military base in the Emirati capital. It sealed a deal in December to sell 80 Rafale fighter jets to the UAE, the largest ever overseas sale of the French warplane. "The United Arab Emirates was victim of serious attacks on its territory in January," Defence Minister Florence Parly tweeted. "In order to show our solidarity with this friendly country, France has decided to provide military support, in particular to protect their airspace against any intrusion."