The object of the French Lines Association is to highlight the heritage of the French shipping lines, in particularly that of the Compagnie Générale Maritime and the Société Nationale Maritime Corse Méditerranée. This heritage covers more than one and a half centuries of French maritime history through the collections of the Compagnie Générale Transatlantique™ and the Messageries Maritimes™. Famous vessels have left their mark on this history such as the liner France™ and the liner Normandie™.

The heritage is composed of documentary resources retracing the life of shipping lines (paper collections) and two important iconographic collections (photo and film collections). The heritage also includes numerous objects of which the most remarkable are classified in the French National Heritage (object collections) and protected historical trademarks (trademark collections).

The most important objective of French Lines is to present their collections to the public by way of exhibition centres and to give access to its archives in documentation centres (reference), in the main French ports where the history of these companies took place. The Association also develops a communication network with the organisations in possession of archives and collections concerning French shipping lines in order to make it easier for researches and other interested parties in France or abroad, to use them.