While the oceans face increasing pressure from climate change, overfishing, and plastic pollution, France is trying to redefine its role as a maritime power. On the occasion of the third UN Ocean Conference (UNOC) in Nice almost exactly one year ago, the French government announced a series of far-reaching measures aimed at significantly expanding the protection of marine ecosystems. Central to this are the creation of the world’s largest marine protected area in French Polynesia as well as new initiatives against plastic pollution in the Mediterranean region.
The announcements were not only significant environmentally. They also have a geopolitical dimension: France has the world’s second largest exclusive economic zone and increasingly sees itself as a leading player in international ocean policy that aims to balance biodiversity and economic use.
The World’s Largest Marine Protected Area
The most spectacular step is the expansion of marine protection in French Polynesia. In the future, around 4.8 million square kilometers of sea area will be protected there. This means that the protected area will cover almost the entire exclusive economic zone of the Pacific overseas territory.
Particularly remarkable is the scope of the so-called strictly protected areas. On approximately 900,000 square kilometers, human interventions will be heavily restricted or completely prohibited. The goal is to preserve sensitive habitats from the consequences of industrial use and to secure refuges for endangered species.
The scale highlights the importance of the project: the strictly protected area corresponds to more than one and a half times the size of France. Worldwide, there are only a few comparable protected areas of this magnitude.
For Paris, the measure also has strategic significance. The French overseas territories give the country an extraordinary maritime presence in all the world’s oceans. Especially in the Pacific, the control and sustainable management of marine resources gain growing importance in view of increasing geopolitical rivalries.
More Protection in French Waters
Alongside the measures in Polynesia, the government announced a comprehensive expansion of marine protection throughout French territorial waters. By the end of 2026, 78 percent of French marine areas are to be under some form of protection. The share of particularly strictly protected zones is expected to rise from the current 4.8 percent to 14.8 percent.
The situation is also set to change significantly in France’s European waters. There, the share of strictly protected areas is to grow from merely 0.1 percent to four percent. With this, the government is responding to criticism from numerous scientists and environmental organizations who have for years complained that many existing protected areas exist only on paper.
Indeed, many French marine protected areas have so far still allowed intensive economic activities. This has led to an international impression that protection status is often not linked with effective restrictions.
The new regulations are intended to address this allegation. In particular, bottom trawling is coming under closer scrutiny by the authorities. This fishing method is considered especially problematic because it can sustainably damage coral reefs, sponge communities, and seagrass beds. Such habitats are among the most species-rich ecosystems in the oceans and also play an important role in carbon sequestration.
Fight Against the Plastic Flood
A second focus of the French initiative concerns the fight against plastic pollution. The oceans today contain an estimated millions of tons of plastic waste. The Mediterranean in particular is heavily affected, due to its limited water exchange, making it one of the most polluted seas in the world.
As part of the Barcelona Convention, the Mediterranean coastal states have agreed to intensify their efforts to reduce plastic inputs. France aims to take a coordinating role in this.
The focus is on promoting circular economy models. The Paris-supported initiative “Circe.Med” brings together more than 200 actors from science, business, and politics. The goal is to reduce the generation of plastic waste at its source, expand recycling infrastructures, and prevent waste from entering the seas via rivers.
This approach follows a realization that has increasingly established itself over recent years: cleaning polluted seas is technically complex and costly. It is more sustainable to prevent plastic input from the outset.
International Signaling Effect
The French announcements are closely linked to the United Nations’ global biodiversity targets. Central to these is the so-called “30×30” target. By 2030, at least 30 percent of land and marine areas worldwide are to be protected.
So far, the share of protected ocean areas is significantly lower. The commitments presented in Nice by various countries could increase the global protection share noticeably. France is trying to position itself as a pioneer and to motivate other countries to adopt comparable measures.
The strategy follows a pattern already observed in international climate policy: individual states set ambitious standards hoping to trigger a dynamic that will encourage other governments to act.
Whether this approach will s쳮d remains open. Many developing and emerging countries point to a lack of financial resources as well as to the economic importance of fisheries for their populations. International negotiations on binding protection provisions thus remain difficult.
The real test, however, begins only after the political announcements. Marine protected areas only unfold their effectiveness if they are rigorously monitored and controlled. Especially in remote regions of the Pacific, this poses considerable logistical challenges. Satellite surveillance, international cooperation, and sufficient financial resources will be crucial to prevent illegal fishing and other violations.
Nevertheless, the UN Ocean Conference in Nice marks an important turning point. France signals that protecting the oceans is no longer to be regarded as a marginal environmental issue but as a central task of international governance. Given the growing pressures on marine ecosystems, it may become clear that the future of global environmental protection will be decided not only on land but above all on the world’s oceans.
Andreas M. Brucker