possible mission to restore navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, the presidency and defence ministry said. The move was intended to send "a signal that not only are we ready to secure the Strait of Hormuz but that we are also capable of doing so", one of the aides to President Emmanuel Macron told reporters. Traffic in the strategic waterway, through which around one-fifth of the world's crude oil normally transits, has all but stopped since conflict erupted in the Middle East in late February. Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer are leading a multinational mission to ensure freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, which they say would be entirely defensive and only deployed once lasting peace in the region was agreed. The flagship of the French navy and its escorts were on Wednesday transiting through the Suez Canal en route to the southern Red Sea, the defense ministry said. The decision was intended "to reduce the time needed to implement this initiative as soon as circumstances allow", the ministry said. More than 40 countries have begun military planning in London towards the Hormuz mission. According to the Macron aide, "the reason we must now make a renewed effort is quite simply that the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz continues, the damage to the global economy is becoming increasingly severe, and the risk of prolonged hostilities is too serious for us to accept". (Bssnews)