The floating academy and its Borda training ships

The first academy ship was Orion, beginning a tradition in which the school operated aboard old ships of the line until 1914. Successive replacements included Commerce de Paris, Valmy, Intrépide, and Duguay-Trouin, with several renamed Borda. The name honored scientist and marine engineer Jean-Charles de Borda, matching the importance of mathematics, physics, navigation, and engineering in officer education. Naming the school for a famous admiral was more politically complicated because some of France's strongest candidates were Huguenots whose place in national memory remained contentious. The floating school joined academic subjects to daily life aboard a warship and helped France rebuild professional knowledge through successive classes of officers. The modern institution can train about 1,500 students per year across all courses.