06/06/2014
The extension of the continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles: an asset for France
The 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, «a true constitution of the oceans», and more precisely Article 76 thereof, gives coastal states the possibility to extend their continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles. Thus, France, thanks to its Overseas Territories, can expect to expand its sovereign rights over the natural resources of the seabed and subsoil by approximately 2 million km2.
