France is the only European Union member state with sovereign territories, permanent military deployments, and exclusive economic zones (EEZ) across the Indo-Pacific, including Réunion, Mayotte, New Caledonia, French Polynesia, Wallis and Futuna, and the Scattered Islands. Roughly 1.65 million French citizens live in these territories, and France's EEZ — the second largest in the world — is overwhelmingly concentrated in the region. This material footprint underpins Paris's claim to be a "resident" Indo-Pacific power rather than an external actor.
The strategy was first articulated by President Emmanuel Macron in a May 2018 speech at Garden Island naval base in Sydney, where he called for a Paris–Delhi–Canberra axis. It was formalised in the Ministry for the Armed Forces document France's Defence Strategy in the Indo-Pacific (2019, updated 2021) and the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs paper France's Indo-Pacific Strategy (2018, updated 2022).
Core pillars typically include:
- Defence and security: maintaining around 7,000 troops permanently stationed in the region, freedom of navigation operations, and arms exports.
- Economy, connectivity and innovation: diversifying supply chains and promoting "quality" infrastructure as an alternative to China's Belt and Road.
- Multilateralism and rule of law: defending UNCLOS, particularly in the South China Sea.
- Climate, biodiversity and sustainable management of the oceans.
Key partnerships include India (strategic partnership since 1998), Japan, Australia, Indonesia, and increasingly ASEAN, where France became a Development Partner in 2020. France also pushed the EU to adopt its own Indo-Pacific strategy, released by the Council in September 2021.
The September 2021 AUKUS announcement, which cancelled Australia's Attex submarine contract with Naval Group, was a significant setback, prompting Paris to recalibrate toward India, Indonesia, and Pacific Island states. France hosts the annual La Pérouse multilateral naval exercise and conducts the Jeanne d'Arc and Pégase deployments to project presence.
Example
In February 2022, France hosted an EU–Indo-Pacific ministerial forum in Paris during its Council presidency, presenting itself as the bridge between Brussels and regional partners such as India, Japan, and ASEAN.
Frequently asked questions
Because it holds sovereign territories from the western Indian Ocean to French Polynesia, hosts roughly 1.65 million citizens there, controls the world's second-largest EEZ largely in the region, and stations about 7,000 troops permanently across these territories.
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