The RIF Office’s team in Athens (Posidonia) for French flag promotion

Promotion du pavillon français

Published on 12/06/2024

On 02/06, the RIF Office (part of the Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs, Fisheries and Aquaculture) and the French Embassy in Greece, in partnership with the Chamber for trade and industry France Greece and Filhet Allard Maritime, organised "The French Event" in Athens to promote shipping under the French flag.

Chaired by the French State Minister for the Sea, Mr. Hervé Berville, and the French Ambassador to Greece, H.E. Laurence Auer, and attended by H.E. Christos Stylianides, the Greek Minister for Maritime Affairs, the event brought together more than 150 French and foreign people from the sector, including shipowners, classification societies, shipmanagers, lawyers, insurers, bankers and equipment manufacturers. It was an excellent opportunity to showcase France’s maritime industry, which is succeeding internationally, thanks in particular to the French flag’s international register and a high-quality maritime ecosystem.

De gauche à droite : M. D. Vloëbergh-Lair, M. P. Louis-Dreyfus, M. S. Garziano, Mme C. Ezcutari, Mme. C. Pitollat, M. H. Berville, M. E. Banel, M. J-P. Quitot, Mme L. Auer et Mme. S. Rapacchi

Preparing France’s maritime future means ensuring that it has a national merchant fleet capable of meeting its strategic needs, and employing the French sailors trained by the French maritime academy (ENSM - which will double in number by 2027), the challenge of decarbonising maritime transport (thanks to Jifmar Group and Jean-Michel Berud, who took part in the event, an opportunity to highlight the performance of the sailing cargo ship Canopée), and improving safety at sea.

The DGAMPA delegation, led by Director General Mr. Éric Banel and comprising Mr. Jean-Philippe Quitot (Head of the Fleets and Seafarers Department), Mrs. Christine Ezcutari (President of the High Council for the Merchant fleet), Mr. Stéphane Garziano (Head of the RIF Office), Mr. Sophie Rapacchi (tax specialist in the RIF Office) and Mr. Dylan Vloëbergh-Lair (Crews and RIF promotion officer in the RIF Office), put their energy into numerous institutional events at the Posidonia show and business meetings with project developers. The momentum of the French flag was confirmed.

Many thanks to the French Embassy in Greece’s team, whose support is essential in creating synergies between Maritime Affairs and the diplomatic network. The organisation of a breakfast with French shipowners (thanks to Socatra for expressing its satisfaction with the service provided by the RIF Office for shipowners) and Greek shipowners provided an opportunity to share common concerns about the challenges facing European merchant fleets.

Finally, we would like to thank Mr. Philippe Louis-Dreyfus, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Louis-Dreyfus Armateurs Group and Chairman of the France-Greece Maritime Committee, who expressed his satisfaction at seeing the RIF, which he contributed to creating in 2005 alongside the Minister Dominique Bussereau and senator Henri de Richemont, now the tool for competitiveness and protection of the merchant fleet under the French flag.