As part of its Sovereignty Initiative, the Institut Choiseul is unveiling its position paper dedicated to the maritime sector. The note follows on from the eighth Sovereignty & Resilience Meeting, held on 8 March 2023, at which leading players shared their experiences, forward-looking vision and best practices: Christine CABAU-WOEHREL, Executive Vice-President in charge of Assets and Operations at CMA CGM, Vincent FAUJOUR, Chairman of the Piriou Group, Stéphane RAISON, Managing Director and Chairman of the Management Board of Haropa Port and François LAMBERT, Director General of the École nationale supérieure maritime.
Cultivating Strategic Autonomy: the Significance of the Maritime Domain
The sea is a vast, multi-dimensional expanse, but it is also a reserve of natural resources that has yet to be fully explored. With the tensions that have recently arisen around it, the sea is undoubtedly an issue of strategic autonomy. The sea is also a vector of economic, military and scientific power.
Although France can count on its vast maritime domain – the largest in the world after that of the United States – the country must nevertheless work to develop and maintain sovereign maritime value chains in order to establish itself as a leading power.
Charting a Forward-Looking Blue Strategy
The Institut Choiseul, serving as a source of recommendations and mouthpiece for its co-founding partners in the Sovereignty Initiative, has published a comprehensive analysis of the French maritime sector. It includes concrete proposals and actions to ensure the long-term viability of French and European sovereignty at sea. The report focuses on four areas:
- Strengthening French and EU cooperation in the naval sector
- Ensuring French and European leadership on decarbonisation issues
- Enhancing the attractiveness of the maritime professions
- Develop a comprehensive maritime policy for France
Read the full Position paper (French) online.
