Chartres hosts the 238e session in the Centre-Val de Loire region

On Tuesday 21 May, 49 new auditors were welcomed to the Eure-et-Loir Prefecture to take part in the opening of this 238th session in the region. The programme for the next four weeks includes lectures on France's strategic challenges, visits to industrial and military sites and discovery of the institutional players in defence and security.

Sub-prefect Jean-Michel Delvert was joined by a number of authorities, including sub-prefect Frédéric Blanc, director of the Eure-et-Loire prefect's private office, and brigadier general Guillaume Couëtoux, representing Lieutenant General Laurent Michon, OGZDS Ouest, Director of the Regional and Specialised Activities Department at IHEDN, representing Lieutenant General Benoît Durieux, Director of IHEDN, thanked the students for their commitment and invited them to take full advantage of the four-week training session.

 

After a busy opening day, during which they were also welcomed by Christophe Le Dorven, President of the Eure-et-Loir Departmental Council, the auditors took a deep dive into the fundamental structures and concepts of national defence and security. They soon began the marathon of visits that would mark out the session's programme: to the Civil Defence Training and Intervention Units (UIISC) and then to the National Centre for the Implementation of Space and Radio Telecommunications (CNMO-TSR).

 

The week, rich in strategic conferences, was also placed under the tutelary figure of Jean Moulin. In an emotionally-charged sequence, listeners retraced the career of the Prefect, a hero of the Resistance, through places of remembrance such as the Cabanon de la Taye and the conciergerie of the Hôtel-Dieu... The sequence, marked by a dramatised reading of extracts from "Premier combat", ended at the Hôtel des Ligneris, the Eure-et-Loir prefecture building, where Prefect Hervé Jonathan recalled the sacrifice of the founder of the Conseil national de la résistance (CNR) and praised the listeners' commitment to the Republic.

 

After this first week, rich in lessons, the auditors will meet again on Tuesday 28 May in Bourges for the 2nd week of training, devoted to knowledge of the armed forces and the defence system.