Under the supervision of the French Ministry of Transport, it enjoys considerable autonomy of management, like any public institution in the country.
They are responsible for the operation and the harbor police, works of extension and improvement, and also manages its property, which can be important.
French autonomous ports are allocated land they occupy, unlike the major seaports who now own (except for the natural area).
In 2008, the government led by François Fillon announced the transformation of metropolitan autonomous ports into major seaports.
This new status was intended to bring about privatization and opening up to competition of handling equipment, which had been previously run exclusively by the country's autonomous ports.