France’s Exclusive Economic Zone — 11.03 million square kilometers of ocean territory — is the largest non-contiguous maritime domain in the world. Only the United States (11.35 million km²) exceeds it, and that comparison depends on measurement methodology; by some metrics France ranks first. The strategic implications are profound: France has sovereign rights over the natural resources of this vast marine territory, including all fish stocks, all mineral resources on and beneath the seabed, all energy resources, and all marine scientific research conducted within these waters.

Yet France’s EEZ strategy has historically been characterized more by potential than realization. The sheer geographic dispersion of France’s overseas territories — from the Arctic fringes of Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon to the Antarctic proximity of Kerguelen Islands, from the Pacific expanse of French Polynesia to the Caribbean waters of Martinique and Guadeloupe — creates an extraordinary administrative and logistical challenge. France 2030’s ocean strategy is, among other things, an attempt to transform potential into productive use.

Geographic Breakdown of France’s EEZ

Pacific Ocean: 5.6 Million km²

The Pacific represents France’s largest ocean domain, concentrated in the Polynesian and Melanesian regions:

French Polynesia (5.03 million km²): The largest single contributor to France’s EEZ. An archipelago of 118 islands spread across an area the size of Europe, French Polynesia’s waters contain the world’s best-documented concentrations of cobalt-rich ferromanganese crusts and one of the most biodiverse coral reef systems on Earth. The Tuamotu Archipelago’s seamounts are studied by IFREMER as potential — though politically and legally protected — sources of cobalt, nickel, and rare earth elements.

New Caledonia (1.74 million km²): New Caledonia’s land is already one of the world’s major nickel producers (the island contains approximately 25% of global nickel reserves). Its EEZ extends the resource potential offshore, though New Caledonia’s unique political status (a sui generis collectivité with substantial autonomy, subject to ongoing sovereignty discussions) complicates French strategic planning for these waters.

Wallis and Futuna (0.26 million km²): Small Pacific island collectivité with EEZ rights over waters with polymetallic nodule potential.

Indian Ocean: 2.8 Million km²

Scattered Islands (Îles Éparses): Five uninhabited islands scattered in the Mozambique Channel and Indian Ocean — Europa Island, Juan de Nova, Bassas da India, Glorioso Islands, Tromelin. Their combined EEZ is approximately 641,000 km² and they are claimed in whole or in part by Madagascar, Comoros, and Mauritius — creating sovereignty disputes that France has maintained through the physical presence of small garrisons. The Scattered Islands’ continental shelf and fisheries resources are the primary strategic stake.

Kerguelen and Crozet (French Southern and Antarctic Lands): The sub-Antarctic Kerguelen archipelago, Crozet Islands, and associated island groups control approximately 2.1 million km² of some of the world’s most productive fisheries — Patagonian toothfish (known commercially as Chilean sea bass), mackerel icefish, and other sub-Antarctic species are harvested under strict IFREMER-advised quota systems. IFREMER maintains permanent scientific stations at Kerguelen (Port-aux-Français) and Crozet.

Réunion and Mayotte: France’s Indian Ocean island departments control approximately 500,000 km² combined. Mayotte’s EEZ is contested with Comoros (which does not recognize French sovereignty over Mayotte) but is administered and protected by France.

Atlantic Ocean: 2.0 Million km²

French Guiana: France’s South American territory controls a significant Atlantic EEZ, with fish resources and hydrocarbon potential on the Guiana continental shelf. Total discovered offshore oil reserves in the French Guiana EEZ are estimated at 700 million to 1.2 billion barrels, though development remains limited.

Martinique, Guadeloupe, Saint Martin, Saint Barthélemy: The French Caribbean islands collectively control approximately 500,000 km² of Atlantic-Caribbean waters, with fisheries, coral reef ecosystems, and energy resource potential.

Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon: France’s sole North American territory, two small islands south of Newfoundland, controls approximately 12,000 km² of EEZ — though this is dramatically smaller than it would be if full UNCLOS EEZ allocation applied, as a bilateral agreement with Canada limits France’s effective EEZ in this area.

Clipperton Island (Pacific): A French uninhabited island in the eastern Pacific controlling approximately 434,000 km² of EEZ. Rich in polymetallic nodule deposits. Technically categorized with the Pacific but geographically closer to Central America.

France’s “Blue Economy” Vision Under France 2030

France 2030 articulates a “blue economy” strategy framed around three objectives: sustainable fisheries management, marine biotechnology and the commercial development of marine biological diversity, and ocean energy. The strategy explicitly excludes deep-sea mineral extraction from France’s own EEZ (following the 2021 legislative prohibition) while supporting research and technology development that could make selective extraction viable in international waters under a strong regulatory framework.

Sustainable Fisheries. France is a significant fishing nation, with its EEZ supporting both domestic commercial fishing and important quota allocations under EU Common Fisheries Policy rules. France 2030 funds IFREMER’s fisheries science programs — the stock assessments, ecosystem modeling, and monitoring that underpin sustainable catch quotas. France 2030 also supports aquaculture innovation: France is Europe’s fifth-largest aquaculture producer, and the plan targets growing domestic seafood production through precision aquaculture technologies that minimize environmental footprint.

Marine Biotechnology. The blue bioeconomy — commercializing marine biological diversity — is France 2030’s primary growth opportunity in the ocean space. France’s vast and geographically diverse EEZ provides access to marine organisms evolved in radically different conditions: tropical reef fish, sub-Antarctic cold-adapted organisms, deep-sea hydrothermal vent extremophiles. Each represents a unique biochemistry with potential pharmaceutical, agricultural, cosmetic, and industrial applications.

Ocean Energy. France’s Atlantic coast, Channel waters, and Mediterranean coastline provide exceptional offshore wind resources. The tidal currents of the Raz de Sein, Raz Blanchard, and the Fromveur Passage in Brittany are among Europe’s most powerful — exploited experimentally by Sabella’s tidal turbines. Wave energy resources off the Atlantic coast are substantial. France 2030 positions France to be a developer and exporter of ocean energy technology.

Strategic Mineral Resources: The Long Game

France’s refusal to permit deep-sea mineral extraction in its own EEZ does not mean strategic indifference to its mineral resources. The Kerguelen plateau, the New Caledonia continental shelf, and French Polynesia’s seamounts collectively contain estimated resources including:

• Cobalt-rich ferromanganese crusts on Pacific seamounts (cobalt is critical for electric vehicle batteries and permanent magnets)
• Polymetallic nodules containing manganese, nickel, copper, and cobalt in the Pacific
• Possible rare earth enrichments in certain geological formations

France’s stated strategic position: these resources are not being ignored but are being held in reserve pending both technological development (making selective, lower-impact extraction feasible) and international regulatory development (ensuring that any extraction, wherever it occurs, meets high environmental standards). IFREMER’s research programs explicitly address the question of whether future technologies could enable selective mineral recovery with substantially lower ecosystem impact than current dredging approaches.

Governance Challenges

Managing 11 million km² of ocean territory from metropolitan France — given that most of this territory lies thousands of kilometers away in overseas collectivités with varying degrees of autonomy and distinct local interests — creates governance challenges without obvious parallel. France 2030’s ocean strategy must navigate:

• The political autonomy of New Caledonia and French Polynesia in resource management decisions affecting their nearby waters
• International disputes over specific EEZ areas (Scattered Islands, Clipperton, Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon)
• The different legal frameworks governing metropolitan France, DOM (Départements d’Outre-Mer like Réunion and Martinique), COM (Collectivités d’Outre-Mer like French Polynesia), and sui generis territories
• Coordination between France’s ocean strategy and EU law (France’s overseas territories have complex EU status — some are EU outermost regions, others are Overseas Countries and Territories under EU association)

France 2030’s response is institutional: IFREMER provides the scientific coherence across the geographically dispersed EEZ, while the Interministerial Secretariat for the Sea (Secrétariat général de la mer) coordinates policy. The plan strengthens both institutions, adding capacity for the systematic monitoring and management of France’s maritime domain that the country’s strategic stature demands.