Eric Banel

Mr. Banel has accumulated solid expertise over two decades in European and international institutions regarding maritime affairs, shipping, fisheries, energy, and the marine environment. Appointed Director General for Maritime Affairs, Fisheries and Aquaculture by the Council of Ministers on March 2, 2022, Mr. Banel was since October 14, 2021, in charge of the creation and prefiguration of the new organisation, merging all maritime activities into one single directorate. As General Administrator for Maritime Affairs, he was the Director for Fisheries and Aquaculture at the Ministry of Agriculture and Food since 2020. From 2018 to 2020 he was the Interregional Director of the Sea for the South-Atlantic in Bordeaux, at the Ministry of the Sea. From 2017 to 2018, he was Advisor to the Prime Minister for maritime economy and ports at the General Secretariat for the Sea. From 2012 to 2017, Mr. Banel was Managing General Director of Armateurs de France, the French shipowner’s association, and a member of the Council of the Merchant Navy and of the National Council of the Sea and Coast. From 2010 to 2012, he served as Special Advisor to the Minister of Ecology and Sustainable Development and was responsible for maritime affairs, ports, rivers, coastal and overseas territories. From 2007 to 2010, he was the Director for Maritime Affairs in the Indian Ocean for La Réunion and the Scattered Islands. He was also a Fisheries and Environment Technical Advisor to the Minister of Agriculture and Food from 2006 to 2007. From 2004 to 2006, he held various positions within the Department of Maritime Affairs. He was also a fisheries inspector for the NEAFC. He began his career in 2001 at Boulogne-sur-Mer as Deputy to the Interregional Director of Maritime Affairs for the Channel and the North Sea after graduating from the National School of Maritime Affairs and the Institute of Higher National Defence Studies. He holds an L.L.M in political science, international and European law and in Chinese literature and civilisation. He is also a Knight of the Legion of Honour.