The Fabre Line or Compagnie Francaise de Navigation a Vapeur Cyprien Fabre & Compagnie was a French shipping line formed in 1881. It began operating a small fleet of sailing ships in 1865.Fabre Line steamships brought many thousands of European immigrants to Providence, Rhode Island in the early twentieth century.It became the Compagnie Generale de Navigation a Vapeur in 1933 under the helm of Jean Alfred Fraissinet.