Question 13696 — water transport

Summary

Mr. Benoît Biteau draws the attention of the Minister of Transport to the consequences of the infringement procedure initiated by the European Commission against France concerning the organization of port services. The European Commission has in fact initiated infringement procedure INFR(2025)4021, considering that certain provisions of French law, in particular article 260 of the customs code, which provides for the reservation of national flag for certain port services such as towing and mooring, could constitute a restriction on the freedom to provide services guaranteed by Article 49 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. A letter of formal notice was sent to France on January 30, 2026, also addressed to Italy and Spain. However, port towing constitutes an essential link in maritime security and the operation of ports. Tugboats provide assistance to ships entering and leaving ports, maneuvering cargo ships in the port area and can intervene in emergency situations, such as fires, rescue operations or maritime pollution. They also constitute a complementary operational capacity for State action at sea. Maintaining ships under the national flag and crews of French sailors also presents important issues in terms of security and sovereignty. Indeed, these resources can be requisitioned by state authorities, in particular the maritime prefect, the regional prefect or the civil security authorities, during major events. Furthermore, French sailors are subject to strict control and qualification procedures, contributing to the safety of port infrastructures, which constitute strategic sites. In this context, several professional and trade union organizations in the maritime sector are proposing to integrate port tugs and their crews into the national strategic fleet provided for by Article L. 1335-4 of the Defense Code. However, the order intended to define the precise list of ships making up this strategic fleet has, to date, not yet been taken. Under these conditions, he asks what positions the Government intends to defend with the European Commission in order to preserve the imperatives of maritime security, national sovereignty and the maintenance of French maritime skills. He also wishes to know if the Government plans to integrate port tugs and their crews into the national strategic fleet provided for by the defense code. and within what time frame the order allowing the composition of this fleet to be specified could be published.

Machine translation from French. The official text remains authoritative.

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