REPORTAGE
The sea, which we see dancing along the clear gulfs, and which now has its ministry. It is a first for more than thirty years and it was Annick Girardin, former Minister of Overseas, who recovered the portfolio during the reshuffle on Monday. And it's not just a display. Emmanuel Macron thus confirms the importance of his maritime strategy, France being the second largest ocean power in the world. On the Opal Coast, in Pas-de-Calais, much is expected of this new ministry.
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In the port of Etaples, we hear halyards, these ropes used to hoist the sail, slam against the masts. There are almost only pleasure boats here alongside a shipyard. There is also the maritime cooperative headed by Eric Gosselin, who was impatiently awaiting the return of the Ministry of the Sea. "It is nevertheless a great asset to have a coastline. France boasts of having the second coastline in the world and until then you never know anything about the ambitions of a real policy around the sea ", he notes, interviewed by Europe 1.
"It arouses a lot of interest"
The last Minister of the Sea in office was Jacques Mellick in 1988. Nothing has happened since. "The maritime world was an orphan of the Ministry of the Sea, so it is very important to create the conditions for blue growth", says Frédéric Cuvillier, the mayor of Boulogne-sur-Mer and former Secretary of State for Transport.
Still, there are still many questions. "I would like to know if fishing will be attached to the Ministry of the Sea. It is a strong sign to be interested in the port and not only in the sea", raises the president of the Port of Boulogne-Calais, Jean -Marc Puissesseau. "For us, it is important that there is this ministry that could participate in Brexit, to avoid Brexit being a disaster for the port of Bologna. So there is a lot of interest."
And we also don't know what budget will be allocated to this cross-cutting, inter-ministerial post, linked to transport, ecology, energy transition and tourism.