By John Irish and Michel Rose
PARIS, March 17 (Reuters) - President Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday France would never take part in operations to unblock the Strait of Hormuz, pushing back on comments by U.S. President Donald Trump that Paris was willing to help.
Trump, speaking at a White House event on Monday, said he had spoken to Macron, giving him an "8 out of 10" score on his stance towards getting allies to unblock the Strait of Hormuz, and suggested Macron would join U.S.-backed efforts.
"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," Macron said at the start of a cabinet meeting to discuss the conflicts in the Middle East.
France has been pushing on with its own efforts to put together a coalition to secure the Strait of Hormuz once the security situation stabilises and without a U.S. role, French officials have said.
FRANCE WORKING ON POST-WAR COALITION
"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.
European states have been largely sidelined as the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran has escalated, with Iran carrying out strikes against Israel, U.S. bases and Gulf states.
But with shipping lanes affected and the conflict pushing up oil prices, European powers are trying to work out how to defend their interests.
France has already been consulting with European, Asian, including India, and Gulf Arab states over the past week with a view to putting together a plan for warships eventually to escort tankers and commercial ships through the strait, officials have said.
"But this is a complex undertaking, involving political and technical aspects, obviously with all stakeholders in maritime transport, including insurers and operational personnel, that we must build," he said.
"This work will require discussions and de-escalation with Iran," he said.
TRUMP CALLS REJECTED
Trump called on nations to help police the strait after Iran responded to U.S.-Israeli attacks by using drones, missiles and mines to effectively close the channel for tankers that normally transport a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas.
Several U.S. allies had already rebuffed Trump on the proposal.
"We are dissociating our actions from the United States and Israeli operations. The US is conducting an operation in which we’re not involved in any way. We are acting independently of the Americans," a French military official said.
"We’re excluding any involvement of our assets in an attempt to reopen the Strait of Hormuz by force. Any potential mission to protect the Strait of Hormuz would require a ceasefire or a reduction in hostilities, as well as prior negotiations with Iran. It would necessarily be international and joint," the official said.
The European Union's main naval activities in the region centre on Aspides, a Red Sea mission launched in 2024 to guard vessels from attack by Iran-aligned Houthis. EU foreign ministers agreed on Monday not to extend that mission beyond its current mandate.
(Additional reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta, Editing by William Maclean)
