On September 16, 2008, on the orders of President Nicolas Sarkozy, French special forces raided and recovered the yacht, rescued the two hostages, killed one pirate, and captured the other six.

The pirates were flown to France to stand trial for piracy and related offenses; ultimately, five of them were convicted and sentenced to four to eight years in prison, while a sixth was acquitted.

[3] On April 4, 2008, pirates seized the 88-meter (289 ft) yacht MY Le Ponant in the Gulf of Aden, capturing 30 crew members.

The craft was then moored near Eyl in Puntland, and the owners paid a $2.15 million ransom[5] for the captured crew; the hostages were released unharmed after a week of captivity.

[7] Another pirate attack in the Gulf of Aden occurred 12 days before the assault on the Carré d'As IV, when the Iranian-owned cargo ship MV Iran Deyanat was hijacked on August 21 by 40 pirates and held for 50 days; the ship and its 25 crew were released in November after the IRISL Group allegedly paid $2.5 million in ransom.

[8][9] On September 2, 2008, the 16-meter (52 ft), twin-masted[3] yacht Carré d'As IV, which had been sailing from Australia to La Rochelle, France,[10] was attacked and captured by Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden, where 12 ships had been hijacked since July.

The same night, 30 French Commandos Marine parachuted in[18] and stormed the Carré d'As IV while it was in Somali territorial waters,[14] killing one of the pirates and capturing the six others in under ten minutes.

The Delannes were safely rescued, brought aboard the French La Fayette-class frigate Courbet, and taken to Djibouti; after being held for a week, the pirates were flown to Paris, France, for trial.

[19] The Delannes, who testified at the trial, described Yusuf as serving as the cook and Shire's representative, Awil as the sailor, Yacub as an interpreter, Ahmoud as a "warrior," and Guelleh as the fisherman responsible for feeding the pirate and captives.

[13] The lawyers for the accused took the case to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), saying their arrest and transfer was illegal;[16] they also argued that the alleged pirates on trial were scapegoats for "the main culprits".