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The MedSeaCan and CorSeaCan cruises (November 2008 to August 2010) took place along the French continental shelf, from the Spanish border to Monaco (MedSeaCan) and the western coast of Corsica (CorSeaCan). They provided a reference state of the ecosystem in the general context of deep-sea canyons, through direct observations with a remotely operated vehicle and a human occupied vehicle. Both devices collected photographic, video and biological samples, and all have been integrated in the specifically designed ZOOlogical Data Exploitation system working platform (Goujard and Fourt. 31 October 2014). These cruises were the very first attempt to systematically explore French Mediterranean deep-sea canyons. The same data acquisition techniques were used throughout the cruises and the same scientific team treated the data. Extensive remotely operated vehicle exploration appears to be an appropriate method for comparing canyons and better apprehend cold-water coral distribution. Moreover, this method gives the possibility to initiate a monitoring programme of the deep-sea benthos.