Emmanuel Macron has ordered an “unprecedented” naval deployment in the Middle East to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
France will deploy eight frigates—more than the entire British fleet—along with two amphibious helicopter carriers and the country’s flagship Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier.
Britain is still struggling to send a single warship to Cyprus, where RAF Akrotiri, a UK military base, was struck by an Iranian-made drone earlier this month.
“We aim to guarantee freedom of navigation and maritime security,” Mr. Macron said during a visit to a military air base in Cyprus.
The French vessels are expected to join US forces aiming to reopen the narrow Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s oil is carried, following a series of Iranian attacks.
We have ships. Why are the French sending frigates?
