The French Southern and Antarctic Lands (French: Terres australes et antarctiques françaises), also known as the French Southern Lands (French: Terres australes françaises), are a French overseas territory consisting of a series of islands scattered around Madagascar and the western Indian Ocean, with the territory also including Adélie Land on Antarctica. The capital is Saint-Pierre, located on the separate French region of Réunion, and the largest settlement is Port-aux-Français.
The territory has no permanent civilian population, and the residents consist of visiting officials, military personnel, scientific researchers and support staff. Several geophysical, meteorological and weather stations exist on the islands, and the territory has its own merchant fleet, consisting of seven bulk carriers, five cargo ships, ten chemical tankers, nine container ships, six liquefied gas carriers, 24 petroleum tankers, one refrigerated cargo ship and ten roll-on-roll-off carriers, maintained as a subset of the French register that allows French-owned ships to operate under more liberal taxation and manning regulations than permissible under the main French register, though that register is set to be replaced by the International French Register. The territory consists of the Adélie Land in Antarctica, the Crozet Islands, Kerguelen Islands, the Scattered Islands, and the St. Paul and Amsterdam islands. The Amsterdam Island, Kerguelen Islands and Saint-Paul Island are also the only land masses that are antipodal to the contiguous United States.
The French Southern and Antarctic flag
The French national anthem
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Government
- Overseas territory under a unitary semi-presidential republic
- President: Emmanuel Macron
- Prefect, Administrator Superior: Evelyne Decorps
- Secretary General: Thierry Dousset