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The proposal to ban yachts longer than 50 meters from the French coastline is a case in point.
Presented as an environmental measure, it would have virtually no impact on the sector?s global emissions. The ships in question will not disappear; they will simply choose to make stops in Italy, Spain, or Sardinia. Emissions will remain the same, but the economic benefits will leave France.
Yet it is the French ports, maintenance companies, refit yards, service providers, crews, suppliers, hotels, restaurants, and the entire coastal economy that depend on this industry for their livelihood.
France has recognized expertise in the refit of large yachts, electronic equipment, onboard systems, composite materials, sailmaking, and naval engineering. These skills account for thousands of highly skilled jobs that are difficult to replace and highly exportable.
Weakening them will not speed up the ecological transition.
Another cause for concern is the TAEMUP, the annual tax on personal watercraft. The rationale behind it is said to be, in part, to provide an economic incentive to encourage the use of more environmentally friendly engines.
The goal may seem legitimate. But the technology still needs to exist.
Today, there is simply no electric solution suitable for a large proportion of the small boats in question. There is no affordable option available to replace a 150- or 200-cv internal combustion engine with an electric solution. Constraints related to battery energy density, range, onboard weight, and charging infrastructure still prevent the widespread adoption of these technologies.
Imposing higher taxes without offering a technically feasible alternative amounts to penalizing behavior that is, in fact, impossible to change.
This line of reasoning raises questions. Environmental taxation is effective when it supports a feasible transition. It loses its coherence when it penalizes a choice that isn't really a choice at all.
By seeking to impose more bans and taxes before industrial solutions are fully available, there is a risk of driving business to other countries rather than accelerating innovation.
Italy, Spain, Croatia, Montenegro, and Greece are watching these debates with interest. Every yacht that leaves French shores for good represents jobs, port calls, maintenance work, and investments that will benefit other countries.
The issue goes far beyond recreational boating.
This raises a question of method. Should the ecological transition be based on industrial goals, innovations, and available technologies, or on measures whose primary effect is to shift economic activity outside our borders?
France is home to some of the world's best naval architects, leading equipment manufacturers, internationally recognized shipyards, and an industry capable of developing the solutions of tomorrow.
But we still need to give it the means to remain competitive.
Environmental protection and industry are not incompatible. Quite the contrary. It is by keeping businesses, expertise, and decision-making centers in our region that we will have the technical and financial resources needed to successfully decarbonize the boating industry.
Punishment is often easier than transformation. But in an open economy, it is rarely the same people who bear the consequences.
