Member - France

Cluster Maritime Français

An essential player that promotes national maritime talents

The significance of the French Maritime Cluster (2005 / 2006)

Sectors of activity	Direct Employment	Turn-over  (billions of euros)	" in a few words..."
Merchant fleet	24.000	9.3	100 million tons, 15 million passengers carried per year
Ports	45.000	4.5	50% of foreign trade (75% outside the EU)
Shipbuilding and marine equipment  suppliers	39.000	4.5	A presence in all complex ships (passenger ships, furtive ships...)
Oil and gas offshore equipment suppliers	25.000	6.1	Exploitation of hydrocarbons up to 2.000 meters ocean deep)
Yachting and leisure boats industry	50.000	4	125.000 sail boats produced in 2005
Fishing and sea products	55.000	5.5	5.400 ships (7.900 with overseas territories (DOM)/ 920.000 tons of fish and sea products
State action at sea	60.000	6.3	From sea rescue to aircraft carriers
Research institutes	4.000	0.6	From poles to deep bottom areas
Training agencies	6.000	0.6	Get the men ready ...
Other activities	9.500	2.0	The support of other branches !
Total	317.500	43.4/37.2 *)

*) without crossed operations

France is a maritime nation
- 317 500 direct jobs
- A 43.4 billion euros turnover
- More than 2% of the GNP
- World leaders in more than 10 sectors

Value added of the CMF
- Gather the entire maritime community, all sectors included
- Strengthens the significance and weight of the messages by a common speech
- Permanent organisation of essential contacts
- Sharing of experiences and expertise
- Assistance between companies and new co-operation fields
- Support the emergency of a new French maritime “Place” and promote its image
- Promote concrete realisations resulting from the “synergy groups‘ studies.”

An ambitious plan of action in three parts

1.   Communication

Every year, the CMF publishes a booklet presenting the main French maritime data. This document is also a business instrument/ tool that contains a directory (bilingual in 2008).
Eight times a year, we invite our members of the private maritime sector and of the Navy  to a networking lunch so that they meet each other and create favourable conditions to new business opportunities.
Members, who want to, can present their products or services on that occasion.
High-ranking officials or journalists can join us, upon our invitation, to these informal meetings.

The Navy supports the CMF’ actions being the ambassador of French maritime talents: Since 2006, its warships present five bilingual posters and  a CD-ROM that describe the French maritime cluster. These tools are used as a support for conferences hold during the calls in ports, with the local decision-makers and persons, clients, prospects invited by our members.

The website (http://www.cluster-maritime.fr) gathers the essential information concerning the French maritime sector.
It is developing toward a more interactive website; many actions and thoughts are under taken and reported so that it becomes an exceptional showcase for our members.

Finally, the CMF takes a high-level and dynamic stand thanks to “press conferences”, communiqués, and active participation to many forums.

2.   Synergy / solidarity

The CMF is an association that promotes the cooperation between companies, a.o. as a tool to improve the competitiveness.
Made up by decision makers from our member’s organisations, the synergy groups gather together regularly to work on transversal subjects.
Jobs and formation, destruction of old ships, mutual assistance, image, maritime investment funding, cooperation between the navy and the merchant navy, and about ten other subjects (adopted and renewed by the Council) are currently working.
Then, the conclusions and recommendations adopted by these groups are promoted and implemented by the CMF.
The CMF answers to its members as soon as they suggest new fields for investigation.

The cooperation between the French merchant navy and the Navy is a success, respecting scrupulously the identity and mission of each other.

The Cluster was born from the mutual Assistance group’s initiative. It aims to  encourage  solidarities between different members.
A page has been created on the web site and is becoming an exchange-platform between members. It allows to call on different experiences to set up overseas initiatives/establishments, find and experiment original cooperative solutions, and support together the charges of a so-called VIE (Volontaire International en Entreprise), facilitate contacts abroad.

The “Coups de Coeur” of the CMF are a good occasion to make the French maritime market more active by reporting, and eventually helping, projects that distinguish themselves thanks to their involvement for the sea.
In 2007, it concerned SNSM and a young talented sailor, who finally found the financings he needed.

And many other actions to  keep an eye on the press, and react when necessary!

3.   Lobbying

France
The CMF is an essential source of information, useful to implement maritime public policies.
For the 2007 presidential elections, the CMF contributed to send fifteen questions to the candidates, asking them to take a stand on the essential concerns of the maritime world, which they did.
The CMF is a privileged interlocutor of the French Civil service and politicians at all levels.

Europe
Requests by the ENMC (European network of maritime clusters), whose vice presidency is hold by the CMF, a survey should be realized (funded by the European Commission) to quantify precisely the power of the European maritime sector, in all its components, national and sectorial.

Lobbying for the interests of our members
The CMF takes a stand to defend the interests of the maritime community, but also to get the specific fields of the members (who call on the CMF to defend their legitimate interests) moving along.
Furthermore, the CMF created an observation post for the press to supervise (and eventually intervene) the way the general subjects of the maritime economy and those that concern our members, are tackled.