Secretariat General for the Sea
20 avenue de Ségur
75007 Paris
T : 33 01 42 75 66 00
E : [email protected]
W : www.gouvernement.fr/secretariat-general-de-la-mer-sgmer
France is a maritime and coastal State
With more than 11 million square kilometres of seas, France has the second largest maritime area in the
world, after the USA. The mainland is bounded by the Atlantic Ocean, the English Channel and the
Mediterranean Sea. With its overseas departments and territories, France is also present in the North Atlantic,
in the Indian Ocean and the Pacific as well.
A few numbers to illustrate the French maritime sector:
- 304.300 sea related jobs
- 153.8 billion € of annual contribution
- 1.074 French flag vessels
The Secretariat General for the Sea
Since 1995, the Secretariat General for the sea has been an inter-ministerial department of the Prime Minister
Office. It was created to answer the deeply cross-sectoral dimension of maritime policy. The Secretariat
General for the sea leads and coordinates the Government action in this field. It speeds decisions and ensures
that strategic policies are effectively implemented. It is also in charge of monitoring legal texts and
recommending adjustments if necessary. Each and every aspect related to maritime policy may be included
into the Secretariat’s scope of activity: sovereignty as much as security and safety, as well as environmental
preservation, or maritime economy, innovation and research … are concerned.
Finally, a special responsibility is entrusted to the Secretariat General for the sea regarding the coordination of
the State Action at sea (Action de l’Etat en mer). It leads and coordinates the action of the maritime prefect
(préfets maritimes) for the mainland and the delegates of the Government for the overseas territories. The
Secretariat General for the sea has also the duty to elaborate policy led in compliance with the coast guard
Function. For this, it chairs the executive committee of the coast guard Function which gathers all
administrations in charge. It is also the contact person for all coast guards authorities at an international level.
CIMER
The Secretariat general for the sea plans ahead the inter-ministerial committee for the sea (called CIMER in
French) which gathers yearly all ministers dealing with maritime topics. The Secretariat General sets up the
Committee’s discussions and oversees the execution of any decision taken. Chaired by the Prime Minister, the