The French carrier strike group has transited the Suez Canal and is now moving toward the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, according to the French armed forces, which linked the deployment to the changing international situation around the Strait of Hormuz.
In a public statement, the French Armed Forces said the Charles de Gaulle carrier strike group was being repositioned from the East Mediterranean Sea toward the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. Paris described the move as a defensive step, carried out in full respect of international law, and said the purpose was to help reassure regional partners and support maritime security.
The statement issued in today reads:
The situation in the Strait of Hormuz has a global impact. France, which is not a party to the conflict, remains committed to respecting international law and all sovereignties. Since February 28, the French armed forces have been operating in a defensive posture and have worked alongside the British and their partners on a multinational initiative, the result of ad hoc planning involving more than forty nations, aimed at contributing to the restoration of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, in coordination with the littoral states.
In order to expedite the implementation of this initiative as soon as circumstances allow, the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle and its escort vessels will transit the Suez Canal on Wednesday, May 6, 2026, en route to the southern Red Sea. The deployment of the French naval group allows for:
The movement of the naval task force is separate from the military operations initiated in the region and complements the security apparatus.
The statement mentions that the CSG is heading first toward the Southern Red Sea after passing through Suez. That route places the force near two major pressure points for global shipping: the approaches to the Suez Canal and Bab el-Mandeb, and the wider sea lines connecting the Mediterranean, Red Sea, Arabian Sea and the Gulf.
The statement confirms the move is in preparation for the previously announced UK-France Strait of Hormuz mission. It comes as a CMA CGM container ship was hit by an Iranian missile yesterday, in the Strait of Hormuz. The French-owned cargo ship, the CMA CGM San Antonio, was struck by a cruise missile off Dubai, injuring multiple crew members.
U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) on May 4 announced that its forces began supporting “Project Freedom” , a mission directed by the U.S. President Trump to restore freedom of navigation for commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. The mission was paused two days later as Trump hopes to finalize a deal with Iran.
For the record, the French carrier strike group set sail from Toulon on 27 January to take part in ORION 26, a major exercise off France’s Atlantic coast. It then began a Baltic Sea and North Atlantic deployment. French President Macron retasked the Charles de Gaulle CSG to the Mediterranean on March 3rd as the aircraft carrier had just completed a historic port call in Sweden.
