France faithfully served the Le Havre-New York route for over 12 years, even as airline competition steadily eroded her passenger base and financial losses mounted. The end arrived in 1973 when a global oil crisis drove fuel prices to record highs and made the liner unacceptably unprofitable.
French Line soon bowed to the inevitable and announced that France would be withdrawn from service on 25 October 1974. Even a month-long crew mutiny that saw France anchored for a time at the entrance to La Havre harbor, blocking all incoming and outgoing maritime traffic, couldn’t reverse French Line’s decision.
France would eventually go on to have a successful second life as a cruise ship bearing the name Norway.
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