French Navy
More than a quarter of the operational activity of the French Navy's vessels and aircraft is devoted to maritime security and safety - one of the Navy's foremost missions.
Maritime security and safety encompasses all the operations that the Navy carries out to ward off threats from the sea (terrorism, drug trafficking, acts of piracy, illegal transport of migrants, etc.), defend sovereignty and sovereign rights at sea and control risks relating to maritime activities (accidents at sea, pollution, legacy munitions clearance, etc.).
State action at sea covers maritime operations carried out by the Government in the public interest and using its own resources. It does not include defence-related missions. In concrete terms, it entails enforcing Government authority (police operations, maintaining law and order, etc.) and carrying out public service missions (rescue operations, preventing and cleaning pollution).
Rising transnational crime has a particularly strong maritime impact. Major criminal organisations have discovered that the seas offer an ideal solution for trafficking and illicit trade. The French White Paper on Defence and National Security has highlighted the threats that these activities represent with regard to French and European security. The French Navy plays a vital role in combating this illicit trade as part of its activities devoted to maritime security and State action at sea.
The French Navy is fully committed to the fight against drug trafficking on the seas, which the Government has defined as a top security priority. Within this context, the Navy has concentrated considerable resources in the maritime areas covered by the new "drug routes", in particular the West Indies, the Gulf of Guinea and the Mediterranean.
In addition to specific operations following up on information obtained from the intelligence services, the Navy carries out planned operations during which naval and air resources are deployed alongside marine commandos. These operations are organised within an interministerial and international context.
The French Government has asked departments and services with maritime capability to help in the fight against illegal immigration from the sea. With its constant surveillance and intervention capabilities, the French Navy makes a major contribution to this effort. These capabilities include the coastal signalling network, offshore patrol vessels and air surveillance equipment.
The Member States of the European Union have decided to step up cooperation in response to the growth in the flow of illegal migrants to the northern shores of the Mediterranean. This cooperation is coordinated by an EU agency called FRONTEX and involves carrying out joint maritime operations in favour of the countries that are the hardest hit by migratory pressure - principally Spain, Greece and Italy.
The French Navy carries out fisheries enforcement actions within an interministerial (agriculture, fisheries) and European context. Local coordination is the responsibility of the Préfets maritimes in metropolitan France and of government delegates in French overseas départements and territories. Fisheries enforcement is aimed at protecting fisheries resources and combating illegal fishing activities.
It involves a variety of operations including monitoring fishing activities, questioning fishing crews, checking ship's logs, examining catches and storage and processing facilities, checking fishing gear and mesh sizes, writing up offence reports and diverting ships.
The highly responsive and effective resources deployed by the French Navy to ensure the security and safety of French citizens have contributed to many rescue and assistance operations, often avoiding catastrophes.
The French Navy's activities in collaboration with French organisations, in particular the country's national emergency services and the Société nationale de sauvetage en mer (SNSM), the French lifeboat institution, represent some 150 days at sea and 800 hours' flying time every year. These activities are supervised by regional operational surveillance and rescue centres (CROSS). They require the use of resources specially designed for assistance and rescue work, including support, assistance and pollution control vessels, assistance and rescue tugs and public service helicopters.
Mine warfare operations are part of the French Navy's general missions. Its mine warfare vessels and regional units of mine clearance divers are, however, also involved in legacy munitions clearance campaigns. In addition to this, they take part in many public service operations calling for the use of divers (shipwreck searches, etc.).
Sources : © French Navy