MORE HISTORY AND INFO, BUT MORE RECENTLY

From http://www.discoverfrance.net/Colonies/Kerguelen.shtml :

Following the Second World War, the Australian National Antarctic Research Expeditions (ANARE) regularly visited Kerguelen between 1947 and 1954, and France was obliged to occupy the island to retain sovereignty. In December 1949, a temporary base was established at Port-aux-Français by Pierre Sicaud, with the ships La Pérouse and Commandant Charcot. In January 1951, Sicaud returned on the Italo-Marsano to create a permanent meteorological station; this was the first over-wintering at the Port-aux-Français base.

On August 6, 1955, a French law was passed — creating the new autonomous territory of Terres Australes et Antarctiques Françaises (TAAF). During 1956-1957 the TAAF established at Port-aux-Français a geophysical station for observations in meteorology, geomagnetism, aurora and airglow, ionospheric physics, cosmic rays and seismology. This was to become part of the French contribution to the International Geophysical Year (IGY).

Today, Kerguelen's population of scientists and engineers varies between 50 and 100. The French base at Port-aux-Français is large and well-appointed, boasting a hospital, restaurant, library, sports center, cinema and chapel. The base is shared with CNES (the French National Space Center), whose operations are dedicated to the tracking of satellites — notably the Ariane rockets launched from Kourou in French Guiana.

Kerguelen is visited several times a year by the Marion Dufresne, the world's biggest and most sophisticated oceanographic research vessel, bringing supplies and rotating crews of scientists at the base. The Dufresne performs the same service for the Crozet Islands, Terre Adélie, and Amsterdam/St-Paul.