Tankers sail in the Gulf, near the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from northern Ras al-Khaimah, near the border with Oman’s Musandam governance, amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, in United Arab Emirates, March 11, 2026.
Stringer | Reuters
French Finance Minister Roland Lescure told CNBC that France is willing to support the U.S. in securing the Strait of Hormuz — just not while ships are still coming under attack in the vital maritime passage.
“We are willing to do something to free the Strait of Hormuz, provided that this is not a war situation anymore. Nobody wants to go across the Strait of Hormuz if there’s a risk of missiles or drones going on your head,” he told CNBC’s Charlotte Reed on Tuesday.
“We need the conflict to de-escalate, and then we can imagine securing the Strait of Hormuz … We know how to do it, but you don’t do that in a war situation. You do that in a pacified situation in which people need to be secure and safe,” he added.
France, the U.K. and Germany are among the European allies who have been criticized by President Donald Trump for failing to assist the U.S. in reopening the Strait of Hormuz, a maritime passage controlled by Iran which is critical for exporting large amounts of oil and gas out of the Middle East.
European countries are reluctant to get involved in the U.S. and Israel’s conflict with Iran, seeing it as a war of choice rather than necessity, and one that has no clear objectives or endpoint.
While European officials have expressed concern that global food, fertilizer and energy supplies are at risk as a result of the Strait of Hormuz being effectively closed, there is little appetite to expand naval operations in the Middle East to assist the movements of vessels through the channel.
The EU’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas summed up sentiment in the region on Monday, telling reporters, “This is not Europe’s war, but Europe’s interests are directly at stake.”
Lescure echoed that sentiment, telling CNBC: “Is the conflict going to impact Europe? Yes. Is the conflict going to impact the U.S.? I think yes, too. And you know, the last time I checked, we didn’t start the conflict,” he said.
French President Emmanuel Macron said Monday that his country would not take part in operations in the Strait of Hormuz, stating: “We are not party to the conflict and therefore France will never take part in operations to open or liberate the Strait of Hormuz in the current context,” he said Monday, in comments translated by Reuters.
“We are convinced that once the situation has calmed down — and I deliberately use this term broadly — once the situation has calmed down, that is to say, once the main bombing has ceased, we are ready, along with other nations, to assume responsibility for the escort system,” Macron said.