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France is deploying about a dozen naval vessels, including its aircraft \u200ccarrier strike group, to the Mediterranean, Red Sea and potentially the Strait of Hormuz as part of defensive support to allies threatened by the conflict in the Middle East.<\/strong><\/p>\n Speaking in Cyprus before visiting the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier, which arrived this weekend in \u200bthe eastern Mediterranean, President of France Emmanuel Macron sought to reassure his Cypriot counterpart after drones were intercepted heading \u200btowards the island last week.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen Cyprus is attacked, then Europe is attacked,\u201d France president Macron said \u2060after meeting with President Nikos Christodoulides and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in Paphos.<\/p>\n European states have been largely sidelined \u200bas the conflict between the US, Israel and Iran has escalated, hitting Gulf Arab states and dragging Lebanon \u200binto the line of fire after Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah attacked Israel.<\/p>\n But with shipping lanes in the Middle East impacted and the price of oil heading well above $100 a barrel, European powers are grappling with the issue of how to defend their interests.<\/p>\n \u201cOur objective \u200bis to maintain a strictly defensive stance, standing alongside all countries attacked by Iran in its retaliation, to \u200bensure our credibility, and to contribute to regional de-escalation. Ultimately, we aim to guarantee freedom of navigation and maritime security,\u201d Macron said.<\/p>\n The \u200cEuropean \u2060Union\u2019s main naval activities in the region centre on Aspides \u2013 Shields in Greek \u2013 a Red Sea naval mission launched in early 2024 to guard vessels from attack by Iranian-aligned Houthi militants backing Palestinian militant group Hamas in its war with Israel.<\/p>\n \u201cI will also add my voice to the rest of my European colleagues to reinforce the Aspides operation \u200bwith more vessels,\u201d Mitsotakis \u200bsaid.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are few of us \u2060who are participating, but here too we will need to demonstrate our European solidarity more practically.\u201d<\/p>\n Macron, whose navy already provides one warship to that mission, said there would \u200bbe two in total, but that in all France would deploy eight warships, the \u200baircraft carrier group \u2060and two helicopter carriers to the region.<\/p>\n That could ultimately include the Strait of Hormuz to support commercial vessels, Macron said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are in the process of setting up a purely defensive, purely escort mission, which must be prepared together with both \u2060European \u200band non-European states, and whose purpose is to enable, as soon as \u200bpossible after the most intense phase of the conflict has ended, the escort of container ships and tankers to gradually reopen the Strait of \u200bHormuz,\u201d Macron said, without elaborating.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n