The task of local coordination of the exercise of national maritime responsibilities (action de l’Etat en mer–‘AEM’), which in mainland France falls to the Préfet Maritime, is one that overseas is assigned to the Government Delegates (‘DDG’). Although they have similar duties, and despite the challenges posed by major national maritime involvement, the DDGs do not have the same structures as the Préfets Maritimes to help them fulfil their roles. A recent change in the law (the decree dated 6 December 2005) has done nothing to bridge this gap. The overseas organisation has, however, seen some significant developments: greater weight is now given to the joint-service command structure and the increased participation of defence resources in AEM tasks, and the senior armed forces commander becomes adviser to the DDG whenever the use of defence assets is involved. The generally simple nature of the system is, however, retained with COMAR (the maritime zone commander), keeping his role as assistant to the DDG. New structural changes are nevertheless essential to improve the coordination that is fundamental to the exercise of national maritime responsibilities overseas.
The Exercise of National Maritime Responsibilities in the Overseas Territories
The exercise of national maritime responsibilities (l’action de l’Etat en mer (AEM)) covers around 50 roles undertaken at sea by government civilian and defence organisations. It can be broken down into ten task-related categories.(1)
The AEM field is a truly interministerial matter–involving about 15 ministerial departments–and logically comes directly under the Prime Minister. Under his authority, the Secretary-General for Maritime Affairs (Secrétaire général de la mer) has a central role in the oversight of AEM implementation. He coordinates the actions of those authorities responsible at local level for the exercise of national maritime responsibilities. In mainland France it is primarily the three préfets maritimes in the Channel/North Sea (Cherbourg), Atlantic (Brest) and Mediterranean (Toulon) who are closely associated with the territorial organisation of the French Navy. In France’s overseas departments and territories (DOM-TOM), the Government’s prefectorial authorities(2) have been appointed government delegates (délégués du gouvernement (DDG)) to fill the role of government maritime representative.
This initial decision was justified by the desire to avoid administration creep, but its limitations are now becoming apparent. The administration and coordination of maritime affairs in the DOM-TOM is allocated far fewer resources than in mainland France. The challenges posed by AEM are, however, intensifying and require significant resources, especially military. If the nation truly wants to fulfil its role, then its AEM organisation surely requires modernisation.
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