France sends aircraft carrier to Mediterranean as Middle East flares up

PARIS — France will send the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier and its strike group to the Mediterranean as war expands in the Middle East , President Emmanuel Macron said in a speech on Tuesday night.

With the Strait of Hormuz closed and the Suez Canal and Red Sea threatened, France is also working on a coalition to pool assets, including military, that will allow shipping traffic to resume, Macron said in the televised speech.

“Faced with this unstable situation and the uncertainties of the days ahead, I have given orders for the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle, its air assets, and its escort of frigates to set course for the Mediterranean,” Macron said.

This photograph shows screens broadcasting French President Emmanuel Macron's address on the war in Iran and its repercussions on the Middle East, from the Elysee Palace in Paris on March 3, 2026. (Sebastien Bozon / AFP via Getty Images)

The nuclear-powered Charles de Gaulle and its escorts are being rerouted from the Baltic and the Northern Atlantic, where the carrier group had been set to participate in multiple NATO missions. The air group embarked on France’s only carrier typically consists of Rafale jets and E-2C Hawkeye airborne early warning aircraft, as well as several helicopters.

The deployed carrier strike group included the Italian destroyer Andrea Doria as well as the French frigate L’Amiral Ronarc’h, according to the French Navy. The group also included the frigates Alsace and Chevalier Paul, as well as the oiler Jacques Chevallier, according to French media reports.

Macron said France has economic interests to protect, with oil prices, natural gas prices and international trade “profoundly” disrupted by the war between the U.S. and Israel against Iran.

“We are taking the initiative to build a coalition to pool resources, including military resources, to resume and secure traffic in these maritime routes that are essential to the global economy,” Macron said. “This is what we were able to do several months ago in the Red Sea. This is what we must do there today.”

French forces, which are deployed across several bases in the Middle East, downed drones “in legitimate defense” from the very first hours of the conflict between the U.S. and Israel with Iran, to protect the airspace of its allies, Macron said. France in recent hours sent additional Rafale jets, air-defense systems and radars to the region, the president said.

“It’s crucial that we ensure freedom of movement in the Strait of Hormuz because we are all affected,” retired Air Force Gen. Patrick Dutartre said on French television.

With European Union member Cyprus also struck in recent days, France will also send additional air-defense assets to the island, as well as the air-defense frigate Languedoc, which should arrive off the coast of Cyprus as early as this evening, Macron said.

Rudy Ruitenberg is a Europe correspondent for Defense News. He started his career at Bloomberg News and has experience reporting on technology, commodity markets and politics.

巴黎——法国总统马克龙周二晚间在一次讲话中表示，随着中东战事的扩大，法国将派遣“戴高乐”号航空母舰及其打击群前往地中海。

马克龙在电视讲话中表示，由于霍尔木兹海峡关闭，苏伊士运河和红海受到威胁，法国也在努力组建一个联盟，汇集包括军事力量在内的各种资源，以使航运能够恢复。

“面对当前不稳定的局势和未来几天的不确定性，我已经下令戴高乐号航空母舰、其舰载机群以及护航护卫舰驶往地中海，”马克龙说。

这张照片显示的是2026年3月3日法国总统埃马纽埃尔·马克龙在巴黎爱丽舍宫就伊朗战争及其对中东的影响发表讲话的屏幕。（Sebastien Bozon / AFP via Getty Images）

核动力航母“戴高乐”号及其护航舰艇已从波罗的海和北大西洋改道，该航母战斗群原计划在那里参与多项北约任务。法国唯一一艘航母上的舰载机群通常由“阵风”战斗机、E-2C“鹰眼”预警机以及数架直升机组成。

据法国海军称，此次部署的航母打击群包括意大利驱逐舰“安德烈亚·多利亚”号和法国护卫舰“罗纳尔克海军上将”号。另据法国媒体报道，该打击群还包括护卫舰“阿尔萨斯”号和“保罗骑士”号，以及油轮“雅克·舍瓦利埃”号。

马克龙表示，法国有经济利益需要保护，因为美国和以色列之间针对伊朗的战争已经“严重”扰乱了石油价格、天然气价格和国际贸易。

马克龙表示：“我们正在主动组建联盟，汇集包括军事资源在内的各种资源，以恢复和保障这些对全球经济至关重要的海上航线的通行。几个月前，我们在红海就做到了这一点。今天，我们也必须在那里做到这一点。”

马克龙表示，法国军队部署在中东多个基地，从美国和以色列与伊朗冲突爆发之初就“出于合法自卫”击落无人机，以保护盟友的领空。他还说，法国最近几个小时向该地区增派了阵风战斗机、防空系统和雷达。

“确保霍尔木兹海峡的通行自由至关重要，因为这关系到我们所有人，”退役空军上将帕特里克·杜塔尔特在法国电视台上说。

马克龙表示，由于欧盟成员国塞浦路斯近日也遭到袭击，法国还将向该岛增派防空力量，并派遣防空护卫舰“朗格多克”号，该舰最早将于今晚抵达塞浦路斯海岸附近。

鲁迪·鲁伊滕贝格是《防务新闻》的欧洲记者。他的职业生涯始于彭博新闻社，拥有报道科技、大宗商品市场和政治方面的经验。