French aircraft carrier crosses Suez as Paris eyes Hormuz mission – POLITICO

PARIS — France's flagship aircraft carrier, the Charles de Gaulle, passed through the Suez Canal into the Red Sea on Wednesday, heading closer to the blockaded Strait of Hormuz.

Paris is looking to accelerate a Franco-British initiative launched in April, which gathered 51 countries in an effort to reopen navigation through the strategic chokepoint. About 20 percent of the world’s crude passes the strait each day; maritime traffic has been mostly halted since the U.S. and Israel launched a war on Iran on Feb. 28.

"To expedite the implementation of this initiative as soon as circumstances allow it, the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle and its escort ships will transit the Suez Canal ... en route to the southern Red Sea," the French defense ministry said in a statement.