France stayed out of a Britain-US coalition that carried out air strikes against Iran-backed Huthi rebels who have attacked shipping in the Red Sea as Paris feared an escalation, President Emmanuel Macron said Tuesday. “France has decided not to join a coalition that has carried out pre-emptive strikes against the Huthis on their soil. Why? Precisely because we have a position that seeks to avoid any escalation,” Macron told reporters, emphasising that the subject was not “military” but “diplomatic”.