French Federation of Speleology French Federation of Speleology The French Federation of Speleology (, FFS), is a French organisation that represents all persons practicing or studying caving and canyoning and promotes the study and conservation of caves. It was formed in 1963 by the amalgamation of two organisations, the (CNS), or National Committee of Speleology, and the (SSF), or Speleological Society of France. Founded by Édouard-Alfred Martel in 1895, the was the first organisation of its kind in Europe. Between 1895 and 1900 the society published a journal entitled "Spelunca". The society folded in 1914 at the start of World War I. After the
French Federation of Speleology its intense activity and partly because of the production of numerous publications including the "Proceedings of the International Congress of 1953". At the general meeting of the CNS appointed 10 May 1958, Geo Marchand was designated to organise the 2nd National Congress of Speleology in Cahors in 1959, with the group , of which he was President. Three hundred cavers from the CNS and the SSF took part in the event, from 6–10 September 1959. It gave rise to the presentation of 26 papers and five different films and inspired in the participants a desire for unification. The year 1961