Tuesday 6 February, the 236e session in the Grand-Est region was received by David Percheron, General Secretary representing the Prefect Virginie Martinez, before the assembly headed to the Departmental Council to attend the first conference of the week. Rémi Charrier, head of the INSEE department in the Vosges, gave a presentation on the main issues facing the region.
The session then moved on to the Michelin plant in Epinal, where Bertrand de Solages, site manager, demonstrated the strategic importance of Michelin's production within the local industrial fabric.
The week's other visits were based around keynote lectures given by General Vincent Coste, head of the Nancy fighter aviation brigade, and General Vincent Alexandre, no. 2 of the Zone de défense Est (Eastern Defence Zone), to enable the auditors to develop a more detailed knowledge of the French armed forces and defence system. They were successively welcomed by the 1er Régiment de tirailleurs in Epinal, then to Base aérienne 133 in Nancy, where they were able to try out the flight simulators used to train Mirage 2000 pilots.
