France is moving its aircraft carrier strike group towards the Red Sea as preparations gather pace for a possible French-British maritime security mission in the Strait of Hormuz.
France's nuclear-powered Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier, accompanied by its escort vessels, is being repositioned as part of a broader mission championed by Paris and London, aimed at restoring maritime security in the Strait of Hormuz.
The move, announced by President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday, places French warships closer to one of the world’s most strategically vital waterways.
The effective closure of the strait amid the conflict in Iran has left hundreds of vessels stranded and prompted what the International Energy Agency has described as the largest supply disruption in the history of the global oil market.
French officials stressed that the proposed European-led operation would remain defensive in nature and separate from the US military operation to escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz, which began on Monday before being paused by President Donald Trump on Tuesday evening.
Macron said the initiative could help reassure the global shipping industry. “It may help restore confidence among shipowners and insurers,” he wrote on X. “It remains distinct from the parties at war.”
The French president, who also held talks with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Wednesday, said he intended to discuss the situation with Trump in the coming days.
“A return to calm in the Strait will help advance negotiations on nuclear issues, ballistic matters, and the regional situation,” Macron wrote. “Europeans … will play their part.”
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot told RTL radio on Wednesday that France opposed lifting “the slightest sanction” on Iran while the Strait of Hormuz remained blocked.
Macron calls for joint reopening of Strait of Hormuz, as US plan raises doubts
Security risks
French military officials underlined that any deployment in the strait would only move forward once security risks had eased.
Colonel Guillaume Vernet, spokesperson for the French armed forces chief of staff, said operations would not begin until two conditions had been met: the threat level to commercial shipping must fall, and the maritime sector must regain enough confidence to resume transits through the strait.
Vernet also said any operation would require the backing of neighbouring states, including Iran itself. Iran effectively closed the strait after the conflict erupted on 28 February following attacks by the United States and Israel, subsequently targeting and threatening vessels in the region.
While Vernet did not provide a timeline for the Charles de Gaulle’s arrival, he said the carrier group was being positioned so it could respond quickly should conditions improve.
The crisis has had a dramatic impact on maritime insurance costs. Industry estimates suggest war-risk premiums for ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz have climbed to four to five times their pre-conflict levels.
According to Vernet, the current financial risks remain too severe for most operators. “For now, insurance premiums are so high that not a single ship will jeopardise their trip or go there,” he said.
Alice Rufo, France's junior minister for the armed forces and veterans, told BFMTV on Thursday that a recent incident involving a French-flagged container ship underlined how “extremely grave and tense” the regional situation had become.
The vessel was reportedly attacked while transiting the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday, injuring crew members and damaging the ship.
Rufo added that France stood ready to escort ships through the strait.
The maritime passages with a chokehold on the global economy
European coalition
Washington has not participated in the French-British planning effort. Analysts have compared the emerging Hormuz mission to the “coalition of the willing” assembled by Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in support of Ukraine.
A senior French official, speaking anonymously, said the operation was intended to demonstrate Europe’s ability to safeguard a critical global trade route.
“We want to send the message that not only are we ready to secure the Strait of Hormuz, but that we are also capable of doing so,” the official told the Associated Press.
France had pushed for a multinational initiative from the early days of the conflict. Macron and Starmer hosted representatives from dozens of countries at a Paris summit on 17 April, while military planners from more than 30 nations later worked through operational details for a potential deployment.
The Charles de Gaulle was originally redirected from the Baltic Sea to the eastern Mediterranean shortly after the war began. French officials described the move as part of an “unprecedented” mobilisation that also includes eight frigates and two Mistral-class amphibious assault ships.
France has additionally been strengthening its Gulf presence through air operations based at Al Dhafra airbase in the United Arab Emirates. French Rafale fighter jets stationed there have intercepted Iranian drones and missiles over the Gulf state since the start of the conflict under a longstanding defence agreement with Abu Dhabi.
(with newswires)
