Founding Shipping Lines

The object of French Lines is to highlight the heritage of the French shipping lines, in particular that inherited from the Compagnie Générale Maritime (CGM) and the Société Nationale Maritime Corse Méditerranée (SNCM), these companies were themselves heirs to the Compagnie Générale Transatlantique™ and the Compagnie des Messageries Maritimes™.

Presentation of the founding members of the French Lines Association

These two companies donated the totality of their historic collections in sole ownership, in order to avoid their dispersal, to restore them and make them available to the general public.

This heritage covers one and a half centuries of French maritime history with collections originating from the Compagnie Générale Transatlantique™ and the Compagnie des Messageries Maritimes™. The heritage illustrates the history of the Merchant Navy through stories of famous vessels : France™, Normandie™, Ile de France™, Lafayette, Liberté™, Champollion, Felix Roussel

These collections are made up of documentary collections retracing all the economic, technical, commercial, artistic and social aspects of the life of these companies and also two important photographic and film collections. The collections also include many valuable items such as scale models, crockery, furniture, silverware, posters and works of art. The most remarkable items from this heritage have been classified in the National Heritage.

CMA CGM website : www.cma-cgm.com
SNCM website : www.sncm.fr

Aims of the founding members of the French Lines association.

Avoid the dispersal of a heritage of national interest.

The Compagnie Générale Maritime and the Société Nationale Maritime Corse Méditerranée, heirs of the Compagnie Générale Transatlantique™ and the Compagnie des Messageries Maritimes™, were the owners of collections and archives of an undeniable value due to their historical character. The resolve of the two founders of the French Lines Association, the CGM and the SNCM was to donate their collections (in sole ownership) to a distinct structure irrevocably in order to avoid their dispersal, to restore them and to put them to their best advantage

Make the collections available for public viewing

The collections retrace more than 150 years of national history through maritime archives and the major interest they represent for the general public, the scientific community and the maritime world is widely recognised. The most important collections are classified in the National Heritage. Five distinct categories form these collections :

• A collection of objects (furniture, models, silverware, tapestries, posters,…),
• A collection of paper archives (log books, travel records, technical files…),
• A collection of over 80,000 photos,
• A collection of nearly 300 historical films,
• A collection of protected historical commercial trademarks.

The creation of the Association was in keeping with the need to facilitate the obtaining of public support and to mobilise individual motivations in order to make these collections available to the general public.

Obtain public and private financing from external sources

The inventory, conservation, restoration and above all the presentation to the public of this heritage constitutes a heavy load for a commercial company to assume and thus financial support had to be found from local authorities and the state. This support could only be obtained if the historical heritage was individualised within an independent structure with the right to public authority subventions without infringing on the rules of competition. This is why the French Lines Association was created in September 1995, with the agreement of the State which is a shareholder in the CGM and the SNCM. CMA CGM and SNCM agreed to give their support to the functioning of the association. Also represented on the Board of Directors are the local authorities supporting the Association : institutional partners