While new security challenges - especially maritime security - are still front page news, the French Prime Minister Jean- Marc Ayrault, together with a number of concerned Cabinet members, officially launched the COFIS, Comité de la Filière Industrielle de la Sécurité (Committee for the Security Industrial Sector) on October 23rd, 2013.

The sector’s Industry groups, including GICAN, representing the naval and maritime industry, are the preferred Government partners for developing and deploying this new sector that is now officially part of the twelve major French industrial sectors.

To carry out its mission to develop the technology required to fight any type of attacks - traditional or new - the FIS will have an industrial executive arm, the CICS - Conseil des Industries de Confiance et de Sécurité (Committee of Certified Industries for Security) created by industry professionals . The industry will be a partner of the French government in its strategy to create a “New Industrial France” to meet the needs of the home and foreign markets.

The FIS creation followed a project initiated in 2012 to draft a White Paper on Defense and Security. The four major professional unions involved in the proposed solutions for civilian and military security were: GICAN (Grouping of shipbuilding and naval Activities) for the naval part , GICAT for land operations , GIFAS for aero-space , that were gathered within the CIDEF , and joined later by the FIEEC (including ACN) , for the electricity, electronics and communication part.

Grouped in the GICAN for most of them, the manufacturers of the French naval and maritime industry (excluding Pleasure yachting) account for over € 8.5 billion in revenue and provide over 40,000 direct jobs in France (numbers supplied by GICAN). They are currently investing in various areas, including the emerging SSEM (Maritime Safety/Security and Environment) area.

At the crossroads of civilian and military activities, the SSEM will be a key player in the major economic and technological challenges of the 21st Century such as seamen protection and fight against piracy, migration control, protection of the marine resources of sovereign states, fighting terrorism and illicit trafficking (drugs, humans) and management of natural disasters.

The GICAN represents the whole French naval expertise. It is regularly asked to make presentations in prominent international events on SSEM issues, including piracy, as in the recent Crans Montana Forum held on 18 October in Brussels. The French naval industry grouping, represented by its Deputy General, Jean-Marie Camet made a presentation on the extensive industrial and technological naval French expertise available to the main international decision makers.

“The areas of expertise of the industrial sector of the Security and Defense in France are at the boundaries of civilian and military activities. They cover transport (land, air and sea), critical infrastructure, civil and digital security (cyber security, communications, identity), crisis management, fight against terrorism and serious crime,” said Jean-Marie Camet

“The war against piracy is a major element of the economic and geopolitical challenges of the future. It is declining in the Gulf of Aden thanks to the advanced techniques used in the area by civilian and military authorities, but attacks are on the rise, with increased force and violence, in the Gulf of Guinea and other unstable areas. With seminars like this one, GICAN is able to present the French array of SSEM solutions. The presentations take place in specific areas within the two International Exhibitions we currently organize: EURONAVAL in even years , covering military solutions for global defense and EUROMARITIME in odd years, covering the needs of the maritime civilian economy that is currently experiencing a major expansion,” Camet added.

Euronaval will take place at Paris Le Bourget, on 27-31 October 2014, while Euromaritime will take place at Porte de Versailles, Paris, on 3-5 February 2015.