Compagnie Générale Maritime (CGM) operated as such from 1974 to 1996 when it was privatized by the French state under President Jacques Chirac and prime Minister Alain Juppé. During these 22 years it operated freight and container liner services in various global trade lanes, as well as a fleet of dry bulk ships, and a few large oil tankers and Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) tankers, with headquarters located in Paris western suburbs, first in Paris-La Defense, then in close by Suresnes.