Commander Sophie Cabanes

Head of Law Enforcement at Sea, New Caledonia Maritime Zone French Armed Forces

Commander Sophie Cabanes has been Head of the Law Enforcement at Sea Department since July 2023. She is in charge of the coordination of all French State’s administrations acting at sea over the South-West Pacific. She is currently focused on the development of law enforcement cooperations against IUU fishing and drugs trafficking with partners in the area. Prior to this position, she was legal advisor to the French Navy Headquarters in Paris from 2020 to 2023. In 2020, she was deployed as legal advisor to the Operational Headquarters of the European Union Operation IRINI whose core task is the implementation of the UN arms embargo on Libya. Her career includes three appointments on board French Navy warships, such as FNS Vendémiaire based in Nouméa from 2008 to 2009. Commander Sophie Cabanes is a graduate from Sciences Po Paris (2006), the French Navy Supply Officer School (2008) and the French War College (2020).