French President Emmanuel Macron emphasized Saturday his dedication to reopening the Strait of Hormuz, following warnings from TotalEnergies’ chief executive about potential worldwide energy shortages if the Iranian conflict extends for additional months.
During a press briefing in Athens with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Macron noted that fear driven by geopolitical instability can itself create supply shortages.
“Our goal is to achieve a full reopening in the coming days and weeks, in accordance with international law, guaranteeing freedom of navigation without tolls on the Strait of Hormuz. Then things can gradually return to normal,” Macron stated.
Patrick Pouyanne, TotalEnergies’ chief executive, advocated Friday for the waterway’s reopening, noting that approximately 20 percent of worldwide oil and gas supplies typically pass through this corridor.
Transit through this crucial passage, which also serves as a vital shipping lane for fertilizers and pharmaceuticals, has been severely restricted due to the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran. Iranian forces have captured container vessels while the United States has established a blockade at Iranian harbors.
“If it lasts two, three months more, we are entering in a world of scarcity of energy, which Asian countries have already suffered,” Pouyanne stated at the World Policy Conference in Chantilly, near Paris. “You cannot have 20% of the oil and gas of the planet being stranded and not accessible without major consequences.”
Over a dozen nations have expressed willingness to participate in a French-British led international mission to safeguard shipping through the strait once conditions allow, despite U.S. President Donald Trump’s assertion that American assistance from allies is unnecessary.
“We’re all in the same boat, and it’s not a boat we chose, if I may say. We’re victims of geopolitics and we’re victims of this war that started several months ago,” Macron commented Saturday.
