The French Southern and Antarctic Lands is an overseas territory of France. It consists of:
- Adélie Land, the French claim on the continent of Antarctica.
- Crozet Islands, a group in the southern Indian Ocean, south of Madagascar.
- Kerguelen Islands, a group of volcanic islands in the southern Indian Ocean, southeast of Africa.
- Saint Paul and Amsterdam Islands, a group to the north of the Kerguelen Islands.
- Scattered Islands, a dispersed group of islands around the coast of Madagascar.
Jean François de Galaup, comte de Lapérouse, often called simply Lapérouse, was a French naval officer and explorer. Having enlisted at the age of 15, he had a successful naval career and in 1785 was appointed to lead a scientific expedition around the world. His ships stopped in Chile, Hawaii, Alaska, California, Mauritius, Reunion, Macau, Japan, Russia and Australia before wrecking on the reefs of Vanikoro in the Solomon Islands.
Jules Sébastien César Dumont d'Urville was a French explorer and naval officer who explored the south and western Pacific, Australia, New Zealand, and Antarctica. As a botanist and cartographer, he gave his name to several seaweeds, plants and shrubs, and places such as d'Urville Island in New Zealand.
The Bâtiment de Transport Léger are small landing ships of the French Navy. Also known as Champlain class by the lead ship, they have been used for regional transport and patrol needs in French Overseas Departments and Territories since the 1970s. On 9 January 2014 it was announced that the two remaining Batrals in French service would be replaced in 2015/16 by three 1500-tonne Bâtiments Multimission (B2M) at a cost of ~€100m (US$136m).
Astrolabe was originally a horse-transport barge converted into an exploration ship of the French Navy. Originally named Coquille, she is famous for her travels with Jules Dumont d'Urville. The name derives from an early navigational instrument, the astrolabe, a precursor to the sextant.
Hyacinthe Yves Philippe Potentien, baron de Bougainville was a French naval officer. He was the son of Louis-Antoine de Bougainville. He became Rear-Admiral on 1 May 1838.
The Bougainville class was a group of colonial avisos, or sloops, built for the French Navy during the 1930s. They were designed to operate in the remote locations of the French Empire.
Dumont d'Urville was a Bougainville-class aviso of the French Navy, designed to operate from French colonies in Asia and Africa. She was built by Ateliers et Chantiers Maritime Sud-Ouest of Bordeaux and launched on 21 March 1931.
Ponant is a French cruise ship operator. It was founded in April 1988 by Philippe Videau, Jean-Emmanuel Sauvé, and other officers of the French Merchant Navy and launched the first French cruise ship. The company operates eleven ships, all of which operate under the French flag.
Paul Gauguin Cruises is a cruise line that was owned by Beachcomber Croisieres Limited until 2019, when it was purchased by French company Compagnie du Ponant. Paul Gauguin Cruises operates cruises with one ship, the Paul Gauguin, to Tahiti, French Polynesia and the South Pacific.
Pierre Adolphe Lesson (1805–1888), also as Pierre-Adolphe Lesson, was a French botanist. The standard author abbreviation A.Lesson is used to indicate this person as the author when citing a botanical name.
Le Lapérouse is the lead ship of the Ponant Explorers-class of cruise ships operated by Ponant. Each member of the class has been allocated the name of a famous French explorer, and Le Lapérouse is named after naval officer Jean-François de Galaup, comte de Lapérouse.
Le Commandant Charcot is an icebreaking cruise ship operated by the French shipping company Compagnie du Ponant. Named after the French polar scientist Jean-Baptiste Charcot, the vessel was built at Vard Tulcea shipyard in Romania, from where she was moved to Søviknes for final outfitting and delivery in 2021.
Le Bougainville is the third ship of the Ponant Explorers-class of cruise ships operated by Ponant. Each member of the class has been allocated the name of a famous French explorer, and Le Bougainville is named after Louis Antoine de Bougainville, a French admiral and explorer.
Étienne Taillemite was a French historian and archivist.
Le Dumont-d'Urville is the fourth ship of the Ponant Explorers class of cruise ships operated by Ponant. Each member of the class has been allocated the name of a famous French explorer. Initially, the fourth ship in the class was to have been named Le Kerguelen, after explorer and naval officer Yves-Joseph de Kerguelen-Trémarec. However, before entering service she was renamed Le Dumont-d'Urville, after Jules Dumont d'Urville, another explorer and naval officer.
Le Bellot is the fifth ship of the Ponant Explorers class of cruise ships operated by Ponant. Each member of the class has been allocated the name of a famous French explorer, and Le Bellot is named after Joseph René Bellot, a French naval officer and Arctic explorer.
Le Jacques Cartier is the sixth ship of the Ponant Explorers class of cruise ships operated by Ponant. Each member of the class has been allocated the name of a famous French explorer. Initially, the sixth ship in the class was named Le Surville, after Jean-François-Marie de Surville, a French trader and navigator. However, before entering service she was renamed Le Jacques Cartier, after Jacques Cartier, a French-Breton explorer.
Wallis and Futuna 
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