Yemen Monitor / Paris / Special:
The French Ministry of the Armed Forces announced on Wednesday that France is set to deploy a naval strike group led by the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle to the Red Sea and toward the Gulf of Aden, as part of a positioning for a potential mission to secure navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.
In late March, Yemen’s Houthis announced their participation alongside Iran against the war being waged against Israel and the US.
The ministry reported that the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier and its accompanying vessels will transit the Suez Canal on Wednesday en route to the southern Red Sea, following a deployment of about two months in the eastern Mediterranean. France confirmed that the movement of its sole aircraft carrier is separate from the military operations that have begun in the region.
France and the United Kingdom lead a group of more than 40 countries working to develop plans to help restore freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, where traffic has halted due to hostilities between the US and Iran. French President Emmanuel Macron had stated that any multinational initiative to secure Hormuz would only take place after tensions subside from the most heated phase of the conflict.
The French Joint Staff said in a post on platform X: “Given the evolving international context in the Strait of Hormuz, the strike group is now heading toward the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.” The Joint Staff explained that this pre-positioning “aims to reassure and strengthen regional security,” describing it as “a purely defensive initiative, fully in line with international law.”
So far, European countries have sought to distance themselves from US-Israeli attacks on Iran, rejecting President Donald Trump’s calls to support the US in securing the Strait of Hormuz. Trump responded by describing European allies as “cowards,” before later stating that the US does not actually need help, downplaying the role of allies.
Trump had announced on Sunday that the US would begin “Project Freedom” to ensure the safe passage of commercial shipping through the strait, only to later state on Tuesday that the military operation had been temporarily halted.
According to the ministry in Paris, the repositioning of the aircraft carrier aims to reduce delays in implementing the international initiative in Hormuz once conditions permit. Both France and the United Kingdom have stressed that the international mission will be strictly defensive and will operate in consultation with the countries concerned.
The ministry noted that this deployment will allow the naval group to assess the regional operational environment before the initiative launches, integrate contributions from partner nations, and help reassure commercial shipping companies.
It is worth noting that the Charles de Gaulle was deployed in the Mediterranean with an air wing comprising 20 Rafale fighters, two E-2C Hawkeye airborne early warning aircraft, and three helicopters. France is the only country besides the US that operates a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier equipped with catapult launch systems, allowing the French Navy to operate fixed-wing early warning aircraft as well as enabling fighters to carry heavier payloads.
Meanwhile, the Netherlands announced that the air-defense frigate HNLMS Evertsen, which was part of the naval group, has left the formation and is on its way back to its home port in Den Helder.
