Planning the sea: The French experience. Contribution to marine spatial planning perspectives

As marine spatial planning is developing, prompted by the European Union through common principles prescribed in a road map, it is important to disseminate and analyse what has been put forward as the French experience in this field. Hence, the experience of the schémas de mise en valeur de la mer immediately proves to be original in its framework and deeply rooted in French specificities. However, a further analysis of this procedure implemented over several decades highlights the perspectives that would be worth integrating into French and European considerations. This paper thus provides information referring to the SMVM experience, presents an analysis of its results, and attempts to draw lessons from it with regard to recent developments in French marine policy.