The French coastline has suffered from maritime pollution since the 1960's (Torrey Canyon, Amoco Cadiz, Erika, Ievoli Sun, Prestige, etc.). Has management developed by French authorities to cope with maritime pollution been adapted to risks? How have the means allowed to crisis management developed? Does contingency planning fulfill its objectives? The study deals with an evaluation of maritime pollution risks along the French coastline, an analysis of the evolution of crisis management from Torrey Canyon to Prestige, the main current changes since 2002 and the potential improvements. Thanks to many current changes, this study is a topic question (Civil Safety Modernization Law, local contingency planning, new stakeholders involved, etc.). Beyond a strong bibliographic analysis, the study is based on several surveys concerning local and national authorities. As project manager in Vigipol (local authority focused on maritime safety), the author gives her research an operational approach, especially through the creation of local contingency plans and management of several crises (Prestige and MSC Napoli). Finally, two foreign systems of maritime pollution management (Great Britain and Alaska) are compared to the French one in order to find potential improvements based on exchange of good practices.
