The French Southern Territories (long name: Territory of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands, French: Territoire des Terres Australes et Antarctiques Fran�aises or TAAF) are antarctic, volcanic islands in the southern Indian Ocean, south of Africa and about equidistant between Africa, Antarctica, and Australia.

Terres australes et antarctiques fran�aises (TAAF)

National motto: Libert�, Egalit�, Fraternit� (Liberty, Equality, Brotherhood)
Official language	French
Administrator-Superior	Michel Champon
Internet TLD	.tf

Contents

1 Administration 2 Geography 3 Economy 4 Miscellaneous 5 See also 6 External links

Administration

The French Southern Territories form an overseas territory of France (French: territoire d'outre-mer).

It has been an overseas territory of France since 1955, administered from Paris by an administrateur sup�rieur, assisted by a secretary-general.

Several countries do not recognize the French claim to "Ad�lie Land", and France's territorial claim is suspended in accordance with the provisions of the Antarctic Treaty.

Geography

The territory includes �le Amsterdam, �le Saint-Paul, �les Crozet, and �les Kerguelen in the southern Indian Ocean near 43�S, 67�E, along with the French-claimed sector of Antarctica, Ad�lie Land (French Terre Ad�lie), named by French explorer Jules Dumont d'Urville after his wife.

The "Ad�lie Land" of about 500,000 km� and the islands, totaling 7781 km�, have no indigenous inhabitants, though in 1997 there were about 100 researchers whose numbers varied from winter (July) to summer (January). France maintains the Dumont d'Urville scientific station on Ad�lie Land".

�le Amsterdam and �le Saint-Paul are extinct volcanoes; the highest point in the territory is Mont Ross on �les Kerguelen at 1850 meters. There are no airstrips on the islands and the 1232 kilometers of coastline have no ports or harbors, only offshore anchorages. However, the territory has a merchant marine fleet totaling (in 1999) 2,892,911 GRT/5,165,713 DWT, including seven bulk carriers, five cargo ships, ten chemical tankers, nine container ships, six liquified gas carriers, 24 petroleum tankers, one refrigerated cargo ship, and ten roll-on/roll-off (ro-ro) carriers. This fleet is maintained as a subset of the French register that allowing French-owned ships to operate under more liberal taxation and manning regulations than permissible under the main French register.

Economy

The territory's natural resources are limited to fish and crayfish; economic activity is limited to servicing meteorological and geophysical research stations and French and other fishing fleets. The fish catches landed on �les Kerguelen by foreign ships are exported to France and R�union. The territory takes in revenues of about $18 million a year.

Miscellaneous

The territory's data code is FS and its ISO 3166-1 country code (top level Internet domain) is TF.

See also

• Administrative divisions of France

External links

• Crozet Archipelago http://www.discoverfrance.net/Colonies/Crozet.shtml
• Kerguelen Archipelago http://www.discoverfrance.net/Colonies/Kerguelen.shtml
• Southern & Antarctic Territories http://www.discoverfrance.net/Colonies/Antarctic.shtml
• Terre Ad�lie http://www.discoverfrance.net/Colonies/Terre_Adelie.shtml

de:Franz�sische S�d- und Antarktisgebiete es:Territorios Australes Franceses fr:Terres australes et antarctiques fran�aises pl:Francuskie Terytoria Południowe nl:Franse Zuidelijke Gebieden sl:Francoske južne in antarktične dežele