Macron: Coalition to Secure Shipping Routes

A coalition will be formed to reopen and secure shipping routes in the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea, French President Emmanuel Macron has announced.

‘We are taking the initiative to build a coalition to gather the necessary resources, including military means, to resume and secure traffic on these sea routes, which are crucial to the global economy,’ Macron said in a speech.

The president confirmed that the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle is on its way to the Mediterranean.

Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf has essentially been halted, and Iran has attacked several commercial vessels in the area.

The strait is the world’s most important transport route for oil exports, with 20 million barrels of oil normally passing through it every day.

^{Cover photo: The French aircraft carrier Charles De Gaulle passes Helsingborg on Monday, after visiting the port of Malmö. Photo: Johan Nilsson/TT}