On the evening of Tuesday 4 March, French President Emmanuel Macron announced that he was seeking to “build a coalition to bring together the resources, including military resources, to resume and secure traffic in these maritime routes that are essential to the global economy”. “Today, the Strait of Hormuz is effectively closed. (...) The Suez Canal and the Red Sea are also under tension and under threat”, he explained in a televised speech to justify his action. On Sunday, the EU announced the reinforcement of its maritime security operation EUNAVFOR Aspides aimed at guaranteeing freedom of navigation in the context of the Red Sea crisis. Mr Macron also announced that he had ordered the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier, its air assets and its escort of frigates to head for the Mediterranean, and that additional air defence assets and a French frigate would be sent to Cyprus. (CG)