France won’t join to open Hormuz by force but ready to help secure key shipping routes, premier says

France will not participate in military operations to open the Strait of Hormuz by force but is ready to take responsibility for securing maritime routes in line with international law, the country's prime minister said on Wednesday.

"France is not a party to the conflict; it will not participate in military operations to open the Strait of Hormuz by force; it will not allow itself to be drawn into a war that it did not choose," Sebastien Lecornu said in the National Assembly during his speech on Middle East escalation.

However, the premier said France is ready to take responsibility for securing maritime routes within the framework of international law and with its partners.

"We are facing a problem of energy costs, not a problem of access... We must do everything to ensure that this maritime traffic crisis does not become an energy crisis," added Lecornu, referring to the Strait of Hormuz.

Shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical artery for global goods and energy trade, had been largely disrupted by escalating tensions in the Gulf following US and Israeli attacks on Iran on Feb. 28 and Tehran's retaliation.

He went on to say that what is happening today in the Near and Middle East is a "war that is spreading, that is hitting civilian infrastructure, that threatens maritime security, and that is destabilizing an entire region for the long term."

During his address to the lawmakers, he also announced the government's plans to invest an additional €8.5 billion (approximately $9.8 billion) in munitions orders between 2026 and 2030 as part of the update to the military programming law, which will be examined in parliament later this year.

"It is essential, and it is colossal," said the prime minister, also announcing the "imminent creation of the France Munitions platform, which will be a unique munitions wholesaler to meet the needs of our French armies and our allies."

The current escalation followed the Feb. 28 start of a joint US-Israeli offensive on Iran, which has since killed over 1,340 people. Tehran has retaliated with drone and missile strikes targeting Israel, along with US military assets in Jordan, Iraq, and Gulf countries.