FS Clemenceau (R 98)

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Clemenceau (R98), often affectionately called "le Clém'", was the 8th aircraft carrier of the French Navy. From the 1960s to the 1990s, she was the backbone of the French Navy, along with her sister-ship, the Foch. During her career, she sailed more than a million nautical miles in 3,125 days at sea, on all the seas of the world. She was the second French warship to be named after Georges Clemenceau, the first one being a battleship of the Richelieu class, laid down in 1939 and never finished.

Missions

• 1974-1975 : Independence of Djibouti, in the Indian Ocean
• 1982-1984 : Civil war in Lebanon.
• 1987-1988 : Iran-Iraq war
• 1990 : First Gulf war
• 1993-1996 : War in Yugoslavia

Decommissioning and controversy

On December 31, 2005 the Clemenceau left the French port of Toulon to be dismantled in Alang, Gujarat, India.

Involvement of Greenpeace

In December, before the ship started its sail to India, Greenpeace started protesting against France's attempts to dump the old 27,000-ton warship laden with toxics such as asbestos, PCBs, lead, mercury, and other toxic chemicals on India. It demanded that France should deal with its own toxic waste instead of shipping it to India, where the impoverished workers employed in a poorly managed shipbreaking industry would be exposed to these toxic waste resulting in injury and death. Greenpeace tried to block the departure of the ship from port of Toulon. They also said that the transportation of ship is in violation of Basel Convention.

On January 12 the ship reached Egypt, where it was boarded by two Greenpeace activists. [link] Egyptian authorities denied access to the Suez Canal, asking for a proof that the ship didn't violate the Basel Convention. On January 15 the ship was finally allowed to pass. This decision was heavily criticized by Greenpeace and other environmental groups. [link]

Indian Stance

On January 6 the Supreme Court of India temporarily denied access to Alang since the ship contained tonnes of asbestos and the Basel Convention on hazardous waste prohibits the transportation of toxic materials from one country to another. [link]

The Supreme Court of India constituted a Monitoring Committee (SCMC - Supreme Court Monitoring Committee on Hazardous Wastes) to look into the controversy. The committee submitted its interim report accordingly. Not satisfied with the committee's report, the Supreme Court on 13th February 2006 decided to constitute a new panel to go into the issue. The court directed the Government of India to suggest by February 17 the names of three or four retired Navy officers for appointment of a new panel.

On February 15, French President Jacques Chirac ordered Clemenceau to return to French waters and remain on standby following a ruling by France's highest administrative court, the Conseil d'État. The court acted on a complaint from Greenpeace regarding discrepancies in the amount of asbestos present in the ship, which Greenpeace contended would pose a severe health and environmental hazard in India. The issue now reverts to a Paris administrative court for further deliberations and rulings. The French Ministry of Defence announced an inquiry into the asbestos levels on the ship. [link]

Clemenceau is expected to remain for some time in the naval port at Brest, where it arrived in May 2006.

Trivia

• The song Les trois matelots, by Renaud, makes numerous allusions to the Clemenceau.
• One of the most well-remembered television commercials in France, a 1985 spot for the Citroën Visa GTI, was shot on Clemenceau. A race pits the car against a Super Etendard jet; both continue off the end of the carrier, with the small automobile briefly keeping pace with the aircraft before plummeting into the ocean. Seconds later, though, the car triumphantly emerges, perched on the foredeck of a surfacing submarine.

Design

1: 100 mm gun; 2: targeting DRBC-31 radar; 3: side elevator; 4: crane; 5: approach radar; 6: altimetry DRBI-10 radar; 7: funnel; 8: DRBV-20 sentry radar; 9: Tacon beacon; 10: low altitude/surface DRBV-50 radar; 11: air sentry DRBV-23 radar; 12: altimetry DRBI-10 radar; 13: targeting DRBC-31 radar; 14: OP3 landing mirror; 15: 4-blade propeler; 16: HF radio antenas; 17: side stairs.

Gallery

Image:FS_Clem_barre.jpg|Wheel of the French carrier Clemenceau. Image:FS_Clem_engine.jpg|Control panel of the engines of Clemenceau. Image:FS Clem Gun and turret.jpg|View of Clemenceau where the command tower and the main guns are clearly visible. Image:Super-Etendard 1.jpg|A Super-Étendard ready for launching of the flying deck of FS Clemenceau (16th of July 1997) Image:Super-Etendard 2.jpg|Super Étendards on the flying deck of the Clemenceau aircraft carrier Image:FS Clem1.jpg Image:FS Clem Beam.jpg Image:FS Clem detail.jpg Image:FS Clem turret.jpg

External links