Underwater exploration is a national priority, announced Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday during the presentation of the “France 2030” project. The stocks are scientific, economic and geographic.

The deep beach is an unknown world, more than just a place. We know more about the Moon 384,400 km from Earth than more than 10,000 meters deep. By the time of the advent of space tourism, only four humans had sunk so deep. Among them, the Swiss Auguste, Jack Picard and the French Jean-Yves Costo. It was in the 1950s and 1960s.

Priority to the President of the Republic

They won’t be alone anytime soon. Emmanuel Macron announced this week in his “France 2030” investment plan that priority should be given to underwater exploration. Two billion euros will be devoted over five years as important but complex as space for this mission. At these depths, there is total darkness, a thousand times the pressure of the atmosphere, and the total lack of oxygen.

“It is an extraordinary lever for understanding organisms, accessing rare metals and the functioning of new innovation habitats”, declared the Head of State, recalling France as the second oceanic region in the world after the United States. United.

This decision is based on scientific, geostrategic and economic considerations. There are hydroelectric holes made of rocks that emit a liquid containing hydrogen. 120,000 years, the heat they create 3.5 billion years ago The origin of the first living things on Earth creates a habitat for unknown micro-bacteria. ‘Ifremer a set point a Ulyx, A drone capable of descending to 6000 meters for 48 hours of diving to collect data and map the beach. It will be operational by 2022, but a submarine capable of descending to comparable depths, but with three people, the Ifrimer already has a nautilus.

Many natural resources

The abyss also contains the resources predicted by Jules Verne Twenty thousand leagues under sea. Captain Nemo was convinced of this: “There are mines for zinc, iron, silver and gold at the bottom of the sea, which will certainly be easily mined. Contains all types of minerals (cobalt, manganese or nickel). Contained in polymetallic nodules, they can be used for the batteries of everyday devices (smartphones, PCs, cars, bicycles, wind turbines, etc.).

“I hear that discussions are linked,” said Emmanuel Macron, to allay the fears of the conservatives who fear that the exploitation phase will come after exploration.

The 2 billion euros announced by the President of the Republic are guaranteed for “exploration” alone. But NGOs are cautious and skeptical.

When we talk about exploration, we often have scientific discoveries in mind. This is not about mineral exploration, ”he said. Info France François Charter, “Ocean” campaign manager at Greenpeace.

Occasionally World Conservation CongressLast September, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in Marseille adopted a resolution calling for a moratorium on coastal mining and calling for “impact studies” to ensure the protection of the marine environment. . France is gone.

But already, big companies like BMW, Google or Samsung have pledged to “use deep water minerals or finance deep water mining”. In a “temporary” commitment while scientists wait to clearly measure the consequences of coastal exploitation on biodiversity.

Monitor strategic infrastructure

The state has other strategic interests to explain the need for underwater exploration. The army must monitor strategic infrastructure (telecommunication cables, pipelines, etc.), search for the remains of sensitive equipment or detect all kinds of “malicious systems”. For these missions at the heart of the “Mercator” project, the French Navy is testing such machines. ECA Groupe AUV A18D drone To monitor infrastructure on the high seas.

The fear is real. Last August, an “oceanographic” vessel with a small AS-37 submarine, a machine, left Ireland. [Projet 16810], Was able to dive to a depth of 6000 meters. This Russian Navy spy ship The Celtic Norse, which connects Ireland to the United States, followed in the footsteps of the AEConnect-1 telecommunications submarine cables. 97% of global communications and financial transactions go through them.

This is not the first as stated New York Times In 2015, over the years, US intelligence agencies discovered a dramatic increase in Russian naval traffic over several cables providing global communications.

A national defense issue

On July 14, 2021, cyber or space, as already mentioned by Emmanuel Macron, the battle of the abyss is strategic. France is not alone in opening up this new conflict zone. In addition to the Russians, the United States and China have already developed technologies (sensors, sonar, drones, etc.) dedicated to the deep sea. An article published by Science Po Defense and Strategy. Beijing recently dived with Fendoushe to a depth of 11,000 meters, An unoccupied submarine.

The problem of coastal exploration is undisputed for France. Eifremer even believes that the error was not to go there. It remains to be seen whether the 22 billion announced by the Head of State will be sufficient to achieve France’s objective of becoming one of the great world powers.