special issue le marin Friday 14th October 2016 7 Political context terrorist threat Heightened Marine nationale vigilance near French coasts special patrol insertion/extraction of commandos marine on eTRacO RiBs from the NH90 of the Hyères naval air base. Because it has been engaged in international counter terrorism operations since 2001 - first Al Qaeda, then ISIS since 2014 -, France is a target. This ranges from business interests transiting by sea to military vessels. The national territory is also a major concern, with a scenario where terrorists would strike from the sea. Whatever the situation, the Navy has a role to play. This is not new. Since the 1980s it has been developing maritime counter-terrorism protocols with the GIGN for the Piratmer plan. Another major turning point was the wreck of the East Sea on the Var coast, carrying migrants in 2001. The incident raised awareness of the interest for a country with such a long coast line to monitor its coasts. Since 2014, the Navy has flown a maritime surveillance aircraft over the Mediterranean on a daily basis. The traditional Falcon 50 Surmar is sometimes backed up by an ATL2 maritime patrol aircraft. Fewer checks Maritime counter-terrorism missions seem an attractive prospect: the level of control is a lot lower than on land. However, with ISIS deployed on Libyan coasts - in particular (though not exclusively) in Sirte -, the maritime terrorist threat is genuine. The telling signs that France is taking these threats seriously, are that the country is conducting random patrols on board passenger ships and a military vessel is roaming Libyan waters. Jean-Marc TANGUY