Sea, coastline, ocean illustration - Mickaël Bosredon / 20 Minutes

  • The sectors of the sea economy have drawn up a list of 150 measures to move towards a competitive and low-carbon maritime economy.
  • The initiative was coordinated by LREM MP for Arcachon basin Sophie Panonacle, who advocates for a better understanding of the oceans and coastal areas.
  • She hopes that in the context of "the future ministerial reshuffle, the sea will be taken into account" with why not the creation of "a ministry of the Sea."

From marine energies to naval reconstruction or fishing, the sectors of the sea economy, which represent 400,000 jobs in France, have drawn up a list of 150 measures to move towards a “competitive and low-carbon French maritime economy”.

This initiative, fueled by more than a hundred contributions from actors from all sectors (trade unionists, NGOs, shipowners, professional organizations of fishermen, shipbuilding or even nautical activities) and coordinated by the deputy LREM du Bassin d 'Arcachon (Gironde) Sophie Panonacle, gave rise to a voluminous report given Thursday to Emmanuel Macron, and this Tuesday to the Minister of the Ecological and united Transition Elisabeth Borne.

Presentation of the report on the maritime economy by MP Sophie Panonacle (on the left) to Minister Elisabeth Borne - Sophie Panonacle

In a letter to the President of the Republic, the elected representative stresses that "the economy of the sea was seriously affected during the coronavirus crisis, no sector was spared" and that "all companies and their employees were affected ”.

"We must demonstrate that ecology and economy are not opposed"

All the measures proposed in the report "come from professionals in the sea", insists the member in an interview at 20 Minutes , "and they must constitute the basis for future work on the construction of a real maritime strategy. "According to Sophie Panonacle," there are three components that must dictate this strategy: the social component, with social dialogue, training and employment; the competitive and low-carbon economic component; and the ecological component, with better knowledge of the oceans and sustainable management of resources. "

The unifying element of the entire maritime community, "it is the ocean, and what is more important than everything is its protection in order to be able to continue to develop the maritime economy," analyzes the elected representative from Arcachon. The common thread remains the energy and environmental transition of this maritime economy. The actors are aware of this and they did not wait for the crisis to start this transition, but we must accelerate. It must be shown that ecology and economy are not opposed. "

Thus, if we take the example of marine renewable energies (wind turbines, tidal turbines, etc.), "we have fallen behind but there is still time to catch up," said the member. For this, regulatory relief will be required, and remedies will have to be reduced. I support the demand from companies for there to be only one possible recourse in the Council of State, because it is obvious that there are a number of abusive remedies which waste a great deal of time. "

"An educational week to talk to the French people about the sea and the coasts"?

The deputy LREM also highlights “the poor knowledge of all the resources that come from the ocean. It is not because of this ignorance to do anything: the ocean allows us to feed, to heal us, so we have to go and recover a certain number of resources, but without doing over-exploitation. This is why it is necessary to put the resources on science and knowledge of the oceans. "

She will also have to think about doing "pedagogy in a fun way". “Last year I set up the Festival of the sea and the coasts. The second edition will take place this year from July 17 to 19 in a somewhat special context, but we could perhaps consider an educational week at World Oceans Day, and use this vector to talk about the sea and the coasts to French women and men. People have to understand why we are the second largest maritime power in the world. "

"We had to fight at the end of confinement to reopen the beaches"

Finally, the deputy believes that “in Paris, we know little about the coastal areas. "For example," she underlines, "it was necessary to fight at the end of the containment for the reopening of the beaches, while some scientists pointed out that the epidemic was globally less on the coastal territories. And beyond the territories, we must now make it clear that the maritime economy must become a real strategic sector of our country. We could take the lead in this area and that is, in the end, millions of jobs. "

The elected Girondin waits in particular “to see how the cabinet reshuffle will go. Will the sea be taken into account? I hear about a possible Ministry of the Sea as part of this reshuffle, to be continued ... ”

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  • Aquitaine
  • LREM
  • Arcachon
  • Ocean
  • Economy
  • Sea
  • Society