émoins Polaires: The Polar Regions Come Aboard Le Français for Awareness

From 2018 to 2024, Le Français and the Témoins Polaires association joined forces to raise youth awareness of climate issues through the beauty and fragility of the polar regions. It was a partnership that made perfect sense: the ship, a former Baltic Trader of the Arctic seas, became an ambassador for the poles and a tool for transmission in the service of environmental education.

An association dedicated to understanding and protecting

Following in the footsteps of Jean-Baptiste Charcot, Témoins Polaires has given young people the knowledge and inspiration to better understand climate change and take action, through the wonder and scientific exploration of the polar regions. From 2021 to 2024, the association led climate awareness workshops aboard Le Français. Through engaging, interactive and educational programmes designed for pupils from primary to secondary school, participants explored how the Earth’s climate works and discovered practical ways to respond to today’s environmental challenges.

100 000

young people reached since 2021

11 ports of call across France:

Saint-Malo, Saint-Brieuc, Brest, Belle-Île-en-Mer, Rouen, Caen, Granville, Cherbourg, Le Havre, La Rochelle et Bordeaux

Why Le Français?
An ambassador for the ocean

Le Français was no ordinary choice. Originally built as a Baltic Trader and sailing the icy waters of Greenland for more than three decades, she was later renamed in honour of Jean-Baptiste Charcot’s famous ship. Today, she embodies the legacy of polar exploration. With her exceptional capacity and powerful symbolic heritage, Le Français became the ideal platform for raising awareness of climate change among the general public and younger generations for six years.

THE CARGO HOLD TRANSFORMED
INTO A CLASSROOM

The Polar School

Educating to protect

For six years, Témoins Polaires transformed Le Français’s cargo hold into a truly immersive classroom. In this unique setting, students explored the world of the polar regions through large-scale projections, hands-on scientific experiments and first-hand accounts from polar explorers. Learning became a memorable, sensory experience, leaving a lasting understanding of climate science and environmental responsibility in thousands of young minds.

A PARTNERSHIP THAT LEFT A LASTING IMPACT

Every Port of Call, a New Awareness

From 2018 to 2024, the partnership between Le Français and Témoins Polaires reached more than 100,000 young people and brought climate awareness initiatives to 11 French ports. This exemplary collaboration demonstrated how a historic sailing ship can become a powerful platform for environmental education, making the distant yet vital polar regions accessible through immersive, hands-on learning. The legacy of this partnership continues to inspire Le Français’s educational mission today.

soutenir Témoins Polaires

Chaque don finance les ateliers pédagogiques gratuits et contribue à faire naviguer Le Français pour ces missions essentielles. Votre soutien permet de sensibiliser toujours plus de jeunes aux enjeux climatiques : 6 000 € (soit 2 000 € après défiscalisation à 66 %) permettent d’accueillir 200 scolaires pour une semaine d’ateliers immersifs.