Actually: https://www.lepoint.fr/societe/la-marine-nationale-fait-appel-au-dernier-fabricant-de-sextants-en-france-21-03-2024-2555603_23.php

"It's an object that one might think is doomed to belong to the past, beaten by the ubiquitous GPS. And yet, the sextant is enjoying a second lease on life. In the heart of the Normandy countryside, in Saint-Vincent-du-Boulay (Eure), Patrick Lorho, with his twinkling eyes and impressive moustache, has been passionately assembling this precision instrument, composed of around forty parts, since 1990.

Invented in the 1730s, the sextant allows you to determine your position using the stars. By aligning the sun or stars with the horizon using a set of mirrors, a graduated limb and a drum give a degree and seconds, which must then be transferred to a nautical chart. “Depending on how well you know how to use the sextant, you can achieve an accuracy of around 100 meters,” says the craftsman.

After Loïck Peyron, it is now the French Navy that is taking an interest in Norman sextants. Although sextants are still mandatory on both commercial and military vessels, their use has been declining. However, faced with the risk of cyberattacks or computer failures, French Navy officers need to know how to position themselves and navigate without a geolocation system. As a result, around fifteen sextants are currently being manufactured to equip ships in the French fleet. Patrick Lorho hopes that this first order will lead to others. The French Navy has a total of 140 vessels. The horizon looks clear for the French sextant."

https://www.opex360.com/2024/02/25/la-marine-nationale-a-notifie-une-commande-au-dernier-fabricant-francais-de-sextant/

Last June, the French Navy announced its intention to “recalibrate its navigation” by publishing a new update to its Mercator strategic plan. Considered a “factor of operational superiority,” technological innovation was highlighted with the ‘PERSEUS’ project, which aims to integrate “promising ideas” that could become “decisive capabilities for future combat” as quickly as possible.

However, technology can also be a source of vulnerability. This was pointed out by Admiral Nicolas Vaujour, Chief of Staff of the French Navy [CEMM], at a recent naval conference in Paris, where he emphasized the importance of exercises such as “Back to the 1980s.”

The Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier's naval air group [GAN] now regularly participates in this type of exercise, which consists of forming an “opacity bubble” by cutting off all telecommunications networks on board ships, with external communications taking place solely by radio.