As Emmanuel Macron wrapped up his visits to Vietnam, Indonesia, and Singapore – where he delivered the keynote address at the Shangri-La Dialogue at the end of May – the French president reaffirmed the Indo-Pacific’s strategic importance for both France and Europe. In a context of growing geopolitical uncertainty and renewed unilateralism, Macron emphasized France’s commitment to a stable, multipolar order grounded in international law, freedom of navigation, and inclusive multilateralism – an international posture shared with key partners such as India, Japan, and ASEAN.
Building on this common strategic vision, and as the only remaining European Union (EU) member state with sovereign territories in the Indo-Pacific, France seeks to position its diplomacy not only as a national actor but also as a standard-bearer for European engagement in the region.
The exercise of sovereignty is precisely what underpins France’s specificity and credibility as a resident power. The French Indo-Pacific overseas collectivities (FIPOCs) – La Réunion, Mayotte, les TAAF (or South Antarctic Lands), New Caledonia, Wallis and Futuna, French Polynesia, and Clipperton – which together have a population of 1.65 million inhabitants, play a central role in the construction and elaboration of a credible strategy.
Notably, 93 percent of France’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) lies in the Indian and Pacific Oceans, making it the second largest EEZ in the world after that of the United States. There are also around 200,000 French expats residing in countries of the region, more than 7,000 French subsidiary companies operating in the region, and 8 000 military personnel stationed permanently.
The assimilation of the FIPOCs into a single geostrategic Indo-Pacific framework is a logical step for a state seeking to assert itself as a legitimate actor in the region. However, despite some common geographical, economic, and political characteristics, grouping the FIPOCs into a single macro-region does not fully reflect the diversity of contexts and geopolitical challenges specific to each territory.
A comprehensive and nuanced understanding of local contexts is thus essential to fully comprehend the complexity of France’s Indo-Pacific engagement. This series will explore each of the FIPOCs separately to understand their characteristics, role in France’s Indo-Pacific strategy, and potential friction points between national and local drivers. You can view the full series here; today, we focus on the TAAF (South Antarctic Lands).
A map highlighting the French Indo-Pacific overseas collectivities (FIPOCs). Map by Paco Milhiet.
Having drifted into French sovereignty through the contingencies of colonial expansion, the Terres australes et antarctiques françaises (TAAF, or South Antarctic Lands in English) constitute a singular French overseas collectivity. Yet the TAAF sprawls across five geographically distinct districts and spans three different geostrategic zones: the Scattered Islands, five uninhabited coral atolls surrounding Madagascar; the Subantarctic Islands, including districts of Kerguelen, Crozet, Saint-Paul and Amsterdam, located between 40 degrees and 60 degrees South latitude; and Adélie Land, a sector of the Antarctic continent.
Despite their geographic and historic dispersion and the diversity of their ecosystems, these territories are grouped into a single administrative unit. This political anomaly led François Garde, a former TAAF administrator, to describe them as a “fictional collectivity.” Still, the TAAF lie at the intersection of very real strategic interests, increasingly drawing the attention of international actors. Their recent integration as a component of France’s Indo-Pacific strategy marks a new chapter in this atypical connectivity.
The Scattered Islands, Subantarctic Islands and Adélie Land, together France’s TAAF collectivity. Map via the French Senate, with the Scattered Islands’ location added by Paco Milhiet.
The Geopolitics of Uninhabited Islands
The Scattered Islands – Glorieuses, Juan de Nova, Bassas da India, Europa, and Tromelin – are coral atolls strategically located in the Mozambique Channel. Although under French control, sovereignty over several of these islands has been disputed since the 1970s. As shown in the map below, Madagascar claims Glorieuses, Juan de Nova, Bassas da India, and Europa, while Mauritius contests France’s sovereignty over Tromelin. These claims have been supported by international actors including the United Nations General Assembly, the African Union, and Russia.
Underpinning these disputes are the islands’ potential offshore gas and mineral resources, particularly in the Mozambique Channel, a growing source of friction between France and its Indian Ocean neighbors.
While France and Madagascar maintain a diplomatically sensitive relationship on this issue, recent signs of rapprochement suggest slow progress. After a prolonged hiatus, the Franco-Malagasy Joint Commission is expected to reconvene in Paris in June to explore shared development and cooperation initiatives.
The contested claims over the Scattered Islands. Map by Paco Milhiet.
In a parallel case, France and Mauritius signed an agreement in 2010 to jointly manage Tromelin for economic, scientific, and environmental purposes. However, the French Parliament never ratified the agreement, leaving the sovereignty issue unresolved. The recent U.K.-Mauritius agreement over the Chagos Archipelago may embolden Port Louis and Antananarivo to reinvigorate their respective claims against France.
Located farther south, the Subantarctic Islands are not contested by any foreign countries but hold significant strategic value. The Kerguelen Islands host a satellite tracking station critical for monitoring military satellites and Ariane rocket launches, while the French Atomic Energy Commission operates surveillance facilities in both Crozet and Kerguelen to monitor compliance with the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.
Overall, the TAAF’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), covering 2.5 million square kilometers – nearly 20 percent of France’s total EEZ – holds untapped potential in energy, mineral, and biological resources. However, for Paris, the primary objective lies elsewhere: using these remote territories as a showcase for France’s environmental stewardship and commitment to responsible global governance.
Science Diplomacy and Environmental Stewardship
Building on the momentum of the 2015 Paris Climate Conference (COP21), French diplomacy has, since 2017, launched the One Planet summit series to promote global environmental governance. These summits provide a platform to showcase the TAAF as a model of environmental stewardship and scientific research.
Pristine and remote, these territories function as natural laboratories and have supported scientific missions since the 1950s. Each year, around 150 scientists across disciplines conduct research in these areas. The scientific stations of the TAAF offer unparalleled opportunities to observe ecosystem resilience in the face of global change and human pressures.
One might legitimately wonder why the French state devotes such an extraordinary amount of energy, resources, expertise, and care to protect uninhabited and remote islands. These questions are valid. Yet, beyond any strategic or economic calculus, the remarkable reality remains: in the Mozambique Channel and the Southern Ocean, these territories form a rare ecological sanctuary – preserved and protected. They are shielded from the rampant illegal fishing that would almost certainly follow if France were to relinquish its sovereign presence.