French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle crosses Suez Canal en route to Red Sea

CAIRO – 7 May 2026: Egypt and France on Wednesday monitored the passage of the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle through the Suez Canal as part of the southbound convoy, the Suez Canal Authority said.

The carrier is heading to the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden as part of a multinational initiative aimed at restoring navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, according to a statement by the French Ministry of the Armed Forces.

Suez Canal Authority (SCA) Chairman Osama Rabie meets French Ambassador to Cairo Eric Chevallier at the Suez Canal Yacht Marina in Ismailia, on the sidelines of the passage of the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle through the canal. SCA

Paris is seeking to accelerate a Franco-British initiative launched in April that brings together dozens of countries in an effort to reopen navigation through the strategic chokepoint.

Roughly 20 percent of global oil and LNG shipments used to pass through the strait daily before the US-Israeli strikes on Iran, which started on February 28 and largely disrupted maritime traffic at the strait.

“To expedite the implementation of this initiative as soon as circumstances permit, the 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 French ministry said.

The deployment aims to address the regional operational environment ahead of the initiative’s launch and to help reassure maritime trade stakeholders, the ministry added.

It stressed that the operation is part of “a defensive posture” adopted by French armed forces since the start of the war in Iran, noting that France “is not a party to the conflict” and “remains committed to respecting international law and all sovereignties.”