The prefect, Hervé Brabant, was the guest of the 3rd year students of the Defense Class at Victor Hugo College. The prefect, Hervé Brabant, was welcomed by David Tournié, the principal, and Loïc Ginières, the teacher, for ninety minutes of exciting debates with this former director of public finances appointed prefect of Ariège, in office since Monday, November 10, 2025. A first nomination for this senior official from Vosges, embodying republican authority in the department. “You are called on Tuesday evening to be told that the next day, in the Council of Ministers, you will be appointed prefect in the department of Ariège.” From then on, a timeless sequence opened, intense, full of curiosity and emotion, listening to a man who became prefect, raised with a grandfather who was a resistant from the very beginning. “I come from Vosges, a territory of resistance; my grandfather instilled words in me that have always stayed with me, including that of commitment. It was important for me to maintain the commitment of my grandfather. As we can see, freedom is fragile, it is a small flame; engaging is also remaining vigilant to prevent the awakening of the beast.” Upon arriving at the college reception, the bearer of authority expressed all his emotion in discovering the flag that the Defense Class is responsible for. “The sight of the flag of the 1st French Army Rhine and Danube moved me, I did not expect it, it is that of my grandfather.” This was followed by a story of the end of the war in his village of 1,500 inhabitants, with about a hundred resistance fighters who set off to stop or slow down the German advance while the landing was taking place in Normandy, and only about ten of them returned. “Prefect, it’s commitment, it’s serving,” insists Hervé Brabant. From then on, the questions flowed: how does one become prefect? “After my high school diploma, I pursued higher studies, experienced internal promotions, without thinking of becoming one, until 2 or 3 years ago…” The students discover the daily life and role of a senior official. “I work every day, but a baker, a nurse, or a mother also work daily. Regardless of the profession, there is a vocation, we do not count the hours, and nothing is done without work; there is the planned work and there is the unexpected, such as the recent landslide on the RN 20 or the agricultural crisis. The phone can ring at any time, day or night, constantly.” Prefect Hervé Brabant touched minds and hearts through detailed exchanges, anecdotes, but also citizen messages, and praised the work of the students. He was accompanied by Delphine Lemaire, sub-prefect, and Lieutenant Colonel of the firefighters, Gaël Mailfert. And a final message before parting ways: “There are no boys’ or girls’ jobs, there is what you want to do. Good luck to everyone, nothing is off-limits, no summit is unreachable.”
