Levant Fleet

In Ancien Régime France the Levant fleet (French: flotte du Levant) was the part of the French navy based at Toulon, entrusted with Mediterranean operations. Its counterpart was the Ponant fleet, based at Rochefort or Brest. ("Ponant" in French means "setting", where the sun sets, i.e., the west. "Levant", rising, has the same meaning as in English, the east.) It was the forerunner of today's Mediterranean Fleet.

This fleet appeared in the portfolios of the secretaries of state in 1626, the same year as Richelieu was named "grand maître de la navigation". The two fleets were united in 1642, then split up again in 1661. The two fleets were put under the control of Colbert from 1662, whilst he was "intendant des finances" and "minister of state" but not "secretary of state" : he only became secretary of state in 1669 after having bought his way into the post. From then on, right up to the French Revolution, a secretary of state had responsibility for the whole fleet.

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