This article is about the French overseas territory. For the former French colony in Brazil, seeFrance Antarctique. For Native American nonprofit organization, seeTribal Alliance Against Frauds.
The territory is sometimes referred to as theFrench Southern Lands (French:Terres australes françaises) or theFrench Southern Territories,[7] usually to emphasize non-recognition of Frenchsovereignty overAdélie Land as part of theAntarctic Treaty System.[5]
The entire territory has no known permanently settled inhabitants. Approximately 150 (in the winter) to 310 (in the summer) people are usually present in the French Southern and Antarctic Lands at any time, but they are mainly made up of military personnel, officials, scientific researchers and support staff.[8]
The entire territory has no known permanently settled inhabitants. It is mainly visited by military personnel, officials, scientific researchers, and support staff. In 2019, the Crozet Islands, Kerguelen Islands, and Saint Paul and Amsterdam Islands were inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site due to their pristine wilderness, biodiversity, and enormous bird colonies.[9]
On 6 August 1955, French law reorganized the administration of the islands into a new overseas territory administered by France itself, changing the previous arrangement in which the territory was attached to Madagascar (then aFrench colony).[14]
The Scattered Islands in the Indian Ocean are partially claimed by the Comoros, Madagascar and Mauritius.[15] The Malagasy and Mauritian claims, however, are significantly later than their access to independence. However, the agreement reached in October 2024 on the surrender to Mauritius of the Chagos Islands by Great Britain, in the heart of the Indian Ocean, notably home to the American base of Diego Garcia, has relaunched the debate in Madagascar.[16]
The French Southern and Antarctic Lands have formed aterritoire d'outre-mer (an overseas territory) ofFrance since 1955. Formerly, they were administered fromParis by anadministrateur supérieur assisted by a secretary-general; since December 2004, however, their administrator has been apréfet, currentlyFlorence Jeanblanc-Risler,[17][18] with headquarters inSaint Pierre onRéunion Island.
The TAAF administration, the French Polar Institute Paul-Émile Victor (IPEV) and theFrench Navy jointly operate the icebreakerAstrolabe which is based out of Reunion. The vessel is used both to bring personnel and supplies to theDumont d'Urville Station and for research and patrol duties.[19] TheFrench armed forces also maintain small troop contingents on some of the Scattered Islands in order to protect the French territorial claim.[20]
a According to new law 2007-224 of February 21, 2007, the Scattered Islands constitute the TAAF's fifth district.[21] The TAAF website does not mention their population. The data are not included in the totals. b TheÎles Éparses principal station is onTromelin Island. The headquarters of the district chief lies beyond the TAAF, inSaint Pierre onRéunion Island. c The Territory's principal station isMartin-de-Viviès onAmsterdam Island. The capital and headquarters of the territorial administrator lies beyond the TAAF, in Saint Pierre on Réunion Island.
Each district is headed by a district chief, who has powers similar to those of a French mayor (including recording births and deaths and being anofficer of judicial police).
Because there is no permanent population, there is no elected assembly, nor does the territory send representatives to the national parliament.
Map of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands. Adélie Land (in Antarctica) and Banc du Geyser and Bassas da India (in theÎles Éparses district) are not shown.Kerguelen cabbages on Île Mayès, Kerguelen
The territory includes the Crozet Islands, the Kerguelen Islands, and the Saint Paul and Amsterdam Islands in the southern Indian Ocean near 43°S, 67°E, along with Adélie Land, the sector of Antarctica claimed by France. Adélie Land, named by the French explorer Jules Dumont d’Urville after his wife, covers about 432,000 km2 (167,000 sq mi). The islands, totaling 7,781 km2 (3,004 sq mi), have no indigenous inhabitants, although in 1997 there were approximately 100 researchers whose numbers varied from winter (July) to summer (January).
Amsterdam Island and Saint Paul Island are both extinct volcanoes and have been delineated as the Amsterdam and Saint-Paul Islands temperate grasslands ecoregion. The highest point in the territory is Mont Ross on Kerguelen Island, standing at 1,850 m (6,070 ft). Notably, there are very few airstrips on the islands, existing only on islands with weather stations. The 1,232 km (766 mi) of coastline lacks ports or harbors, offering only offshore anchorages.
The islands in the Indian Ocean receive supplies via the special ship Marion Dufresne, which sails out of Le Port in Réunion Island. Terre Adélie, the Antarctic sector claimed by France, is supplied by L’Astrolabe, which sails out of Hobart in Tasmania.
Regarding maritime activity, the territory maintains a merchant marine fleet totaling (as of 1999) 2,892,911 GRT/5,165,713 tonnes deadweight (DWT). This fleet includes seven bulk carriers, five cargo ships, ten chemical tankers, nine container ships, six liquefied gas carriers, 24 petroleum tankers, one refrigerated cargo ship, and ten roll-on/roll-off (RORO) carriers. Notably, this fleet operates under the French register, allowing French-owned ships to benefit from more liberal taxation and manning regulations than those permissible under the main French register. However, this register is expected to be replaced by the International French Register (Registre International Français, RIF) in the future.
Mauritius,Madagascar, and theComoros dispute France's sovereignty over these islands. Mauritius claimsTromelin Island and states that the island, discovered by France in 1722, was not ceded by theTreaty of Paris in 1814. Madagascar claims sovereignty over theGlorioso Islands (includingBanc du Geyser), though the island group was never a part of theMalagasy Protectorate, having been a part of theColony of Mayotte and dependencies, then a part of theFrench Comoros that had become a separately administered colony from Madagascar in 1946. The Comoros also claims the Glorioso Islands (including Banc du Geyser), as a part of the disputedFrench region of Mayotte. Furthermore, Madagascar has also claimedBassas da India,Europa Island, andJuan de Nova Island since 1972,[22] and a 1979 United Nations resolution (without binding force) demanded the cession of these islands to Madagascar.[23][24]Seychelles claimed a part of the Scattered Islands too before the signing of theFrance–Seychelles Maritime Boundary Agreement.[citation needed] A negotiation session between France and Madagascar took place in November 2020.[25] In April 2025, France and Madagascar announced that they would meet in June 2025 to find a peaceful solution to the dispute.[26] President Emmanuel Macron favors a form of co-management with Madagascar, rather than restitution.[27] On June 20, 2025, Malagasy Foreign Minister Rasata Rafaravavitafika chaired a meeting of the scientific committee devoted to Madagascar's claim to the Scattered Islands. The objective of this meeting was to develop arguments for preserving Madagascar's sovereignty over the Scattered Islands, while moving forward in discussions with France.[28] On June 24, 2025, the Malagasy platform "Sehatry ny Raiamandreny" (Sera) affirmed the indefatigability of Madagascar's claim to the territories of the Scattered Islands.[29] The second commission, between France and Madagascar, will meet on June 30, 2025, for bilateral discussions on congestion, or the restitution of the Scattered Islands to Madagascar.[30] On June 26, 2025, France published the lists of negotiators at the meeting of June 30, 2025, between Madagascar and France.[31]
Due to their isolation, the French islands in the southern Indian Ocean comprise one of the last remaining large wilderness areas on Earth.[33] Furthermore, the islands are positioned along theAntarctic Convergence, whereupwelling creates nutrient-rich waters.[34] As a result, birds and marine mammals gather on the islands in great abundance. More than 50 million birds of 47 species breed on the islands, including more than half the breeding population of 16 different species.[33] The largest populations ofking penguins and the endangeredIndian yellow-nosed albatross on Earth are found on the Crozet Islands and Amsterdam Island, respectively.[34] Other threatened bird species with important populations on the islands includeEaton's pintail,MacGillivray's prion, and theAmsterdam albatross, which is one of four bird speciesendemic to the island group.[34] The French Southern Lands also hold the second largest population ofsouthern elephant seals on Earth, numbering roughly 200,000, and the third largest population of theAntarctic fur seal.
Because of their isolation and subpolar location, the French Southern Lands are relativelydepauperate of vegetation, with both Saint-Paul and Crozet having no native tree or shrub species.[35] However, eight of the 36 higher plant species are endemic.[36] Some species of endemic invertebrates have also been recorded on the islands, including moths and flies which have lost their wings in the absence of predators.[34]
The territory's natural resources are limited to fish and crustaceans. Economic activity is limited to servicingmeteorological andgeophysical research stations and French and other fishing fleets.[37]
The main fish resources arePatagonian toothfish andspiny lobster. Both are poached by foreign fleets; because of this, theFrench Navy, and occasionally other services, patrol the zone and arrest poaching vessels.[38][39] Such arrests can result in heavy fines or the seizure of the ship.
France previously sold licenses to foreign fisheries to fish the Patagonian toothfish; because of overfishing, it is now restricted to a small number of fisheries fromRéunion Island.[40]
The territory takes in revenues of about€16 million a year.
While the territory lacks a permanent civilian population, there are several inhabited research stations.Île Amsterdam hasa meteorological station.[41]Îles Crozet contains theAlfred Faure research station with a population of about 20-30 people. One of the most populous research stations in theÎles Kerguelen,Port-aux-Francais, contains 50-100 researchers. TheÎles Éparses contains a French military garrison and is a spot for meteorology. TheDumont d’Urville station is a vital area for studying wildlife, the atmosphere and the ice caps.
There are no permanent settlements on the islands, however theFrench Armed Forces maintain small troop contingents on some of the islands.[42] There are alsoweather stations on all the islands apart fromBassas da India.
The French Southern Territories (i.e. the TAAF excluding Adélie Land) have been given the followingcountry codes: FS (FIPS) andTF (ISO 3166-1 alpha-2).
^Mills, William J. (2003).Exploring polar frontiers: a historical encyclopedia. Santa Barbara, California Denver, Colorado , Oxford, England: ABC Clio.ISBN978-1-57607-422-0.
^Dunmore, John (2007).From Venus to Antarctica: the life of Dumont D'Urville. Auckland: Exisle Publ.ISBN978-0-908988-71-6.
^Martin-Nielsen, Janet (2023).A Few Acres of Ice: Environment, Sovereignty, and "Grandeur" in the French Antarctic. Cornell University Press. p. 102.doi:10.1353/book.109911.ISBN9781501772122.
^"Les îles Éparses". Archived from the original on 2 May 2007. Retrieved3 March 2007.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
^"Archived copy"(PDF).africa-union.org. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on 30 October 2007. Retrieved17 August 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
^ab"French Austral Lands and Seas".UNESCO World Heritage Centre. United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization. Retrieved22 January 2022.
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