Since Antiquity, man has been well aware of the benefits brought by mastery of the sea, and states have continuously sought for ways to exploit it to exercise their power. The sea is an area in which states can affirm their sovereignty and exert their economic strength and influence. Yet it is also an area of risks. Globalisation of trade, the new geopolitical scene and the proliferation of threats in today’s world are such that mastery of the sea is an issue that calls for strong French defence within a European framework.
Defence And the Sea
Since Antiquity, the sea has been an important strategic factor for great powers. European civilisation has its roots in Greek culture, chiefly from Athens, that city-state whose influence and power were at their greatest at the time of its victories against the Persians and the Delian League.
Since Mahan, the Anglo-Saxons have theorised about the inevitable superiority of mastery of the seas over that of the land. Naval powers, aware of that reality, have always used the sea to the advantage of their economy and trade or to brandish the threat of their fleets.
For men, the sea is a place of freedom. It is a source of wealth and power for the strong, but also a source of risk and danger for the weak. For over thirty years, however, concerns have arisen over restrictions on that freedom.
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