French aircraft carrier crosses Suez as Paris eyes Hormuz mission

PARIS — France’s flagship aircraft carrier, the Charles de Gaulle, passed through the Suez Canal into the Red Sea on Wednesday, heading closer to the blockaded Strait of Hormuz.

Paris is looking to accelerate a Franco-British initiative launched in April, which gathered 51 countries in an effort to reopen navigation through the strategic chokepoint. About 20 percent of the world’s crude passes the strait each day; maritime traffic has been mostly halted since the U.S. and Israel launched a war on Iran on Feb. 28.

“To expedite the implementation of this initiative as soon as circumstances allow it, the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle and its escort ships will transit the Suez Canal … en route to the southern Red Sea,” the French defense ministry said in a statement.

It said the movement will also allow for an assessment of the situation in the region and “help reassure maritime trade stakeholders.”

French President Emmanuel Macron announced in March that he intended to set up a “purely defensive mission” including both European and non-European countries to escort commercial shipping through the strait.

European countries have been very reluctant to get involved in the war launched by U.S. President Donald Trump, but the continent faces a growing commercial and energy emergency because of the blockade.

Earlier this week, Trump pledged the U.S. would escort vessels out of Hormuz under operation Project Freedom. On Tuesday night, however, he said the U.S. would pause support for ships transiting “for a short time,” citing “great progress” in negotiations with Iran.

A French presidency official, speaking on condition of being granted anonymity, said of the deployment: “Through this adjustment to our posture, we want to collectively send the message that not only are we ready to secure the Strait of Hormuz, but that we are also capable of doing so.”

France underlined that its primary goal is to restore normal shipping.

“Our goal today is very simple: to separate the issue of freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz from everything else,” the official said.

The official said Paris is proposing that Iran allow ships to pass through the passage “and in return commit to negotiating with the Americans on substantive issues — missiles, nuclear matters, and regional issues … In return, the Americans would lift their blockade and secure a commitment from the Iranians to negotiate.”

A container ship belonging to the French company CMA-CGM was struck Tuesday evening in the Strait of Hormuz, injuring several crew members.

A French government spokesperson said that the Maltese-flagged ship was “not flying the French flag” and that “France was therefore in no way targeted,” but that the incident proved that “the situation remains dangerous.”