The prefect in front of the readers of Yonne republicaine: “Develop local prevention in terms of security”

“The main function of the prefect is to intelligently apply public policies defined by the government and approved by Parliament, in all areas but always as close as possible to the reality on the ground.” It is with this basic reminder, accompanied by the distribution of a document summarizing his missions, that the prefect of Yonne, Pascal Jan, launched his meeting with several readers of Republican Yonne, Tuesday morning May 14, 2024 at the newspaper’s headquarters in Auxerre. Six citizens were in fact invited to discuss several themes with the State representative in our department. They had prepared questions in advance. Selected extracts from this informal interview.

Road safety

“Road safety is my priority policy,” the prefect responded to the question from Véronique and Gérard Riff, pointing out that in 2023, 35 people will have lost their lives on the roads of Yonne. “It has been a scourge for years, which is difficult to fight because many elements escape us.” Starting with the state of the roads and signage, which are the responsibility of the departmental council. The State has only one lever of action: prevention. “Alcohol, speed and drugs are the leading causes of fatal accidents on the roads, he lists. But of all the accidents occurring from January 2024 to date, the primary cause is the refusal to priority.”

A collective response

To strengthen safety on the roads, Pascal Jan recalls that last year he “issued an order to ensure that two and four-wheelers exhibiting dangerous behavior are removed from circulation, with impound immobilization for seven days, in addition to the fine and the withdrawal of points.

The first results are proving convincing: “We have observed a significant drop in the number of overall accidents and the number of injury accidents of almost 20%.” The fact remains that the number of deaths on Icaunais roads has not decreased compared to the results for the year 2022.

“The response must come from all the stakeholders concerned, when it comes to road safety,” preaches the prefect of Yonne. With this in mind, it has recently approached the gendarmerie and police services, in order to draw up accident statistics on strategic areas of the territory. Like RD 660, 965 or 606. Results published week by week and which should make it possible to identify the most accident-prone areas, with a view to imagining more specific safety arrangements.

Floods

The prefect then returned to the floods and floods which affected the department a few weeks ago, in accordance with a question from Stéphanie Riolet. “What was surprising was the speed of the phenomenon,” admits Pascal Jan. While welcoming the consultation work carried out between prefectural services and local elected officials during these episodes, which made it possible to limit the damage. “There were no human casualties, which is a good thing. That said, the material damage should not be underestimated.” Now, the prefecture’s efforts will focus on how to reduce the frequency and force of these climatic hazards.

“Move in the direction of ecological transition”

Faced with this state of affairs, Pascal Jan therefore encourages local authorities “to move in the direction of ecological transition”, by carrying out environmentally virtuous projects. In this sense, they can be supported “by the Green Fund (around 2 billion euros) and by the Equipment Grant for Rural Territories (an envelope of 16 million euros)”. Planting of hedges and implementation of the Zero Land Artificialization plan are thus financed.

Burgundy Canal

Another problem linked to water management in the department: the Burgundy canal was closed almost the entire summer in 2022 due to a lack of water and an accumulation of aquatic algae. A very recurring problem. “I commissioned architectural researchers from Paris Est to work on part of the canal, in order to identify all the ins and outs of closing or maintaining the canal (with regard to leaks, possible work costs, economic fallout linked to tourism…), summarizes the State representative in the department. From then on, we can take measures that meet the interests and requirements of the territory.

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Public order

The establishment of “Place Net” operations in Yonne in recent weeks has made it possible to tackle drug trafficking in depth, underlines the prefect. But other initiatives are being undertaken at the departmental level with a view to “fighting all types of delinquency”. Thus, the prefecture approached the public prosecutor of Auxerre with the aim of creating an operational committee to combat environmental delinquency (Colden). Its goal ? Observe appropriate offenses and adapt judicial follow-up accordingly. A proposal approved by the panel of readers in front of him today.

In addition to these repressive actions, Pascal Jan above all wants to move towards more prevention. “Security forces and the State must no longer simply be seen as organizations that resolve problems, they must also be there upstream. There must therefore be local preventive action among all the actors (administrated, leaders business, traders, farmers)”, he pleads.

A local urban plan in Auxerre and Sens

A rural proximity plan is already operational, which notably requires the gendarmes to meet farmers to inform them of the risk of GPS or fuel theft. He also recommends that security forces regularly move their services “to nearby third locations”. This is for example the case one day a month at the town hall of Joux-la-Ville. “Proximity urbanity plans will be launched in Auxerre and Sens. They will allow law enforcement to be involved in prevention and gather intelligence,” proclaims the prefect of Yonne.

Cybersecurity

The other preventive aspect concerns cybersecurity. A theme dear to Serge Le Doussal. “This is one of the priorities that I have set, warns Pascal Jan. When I visit a company, I now systematically ask the managers the question. The police overtake me by coming on site to check the state of IT security . Often, business leaders think they are protected but are not, or feel sheltered from the problem because they say they are “too small”.

Real exercises in companies, communities…

The prefect cites as proof the case of this beekeeper from the north of Yonne, victim of a Chechen pirate network. “He paid the €10,000 requested, but did not notify the prefecture or the Chamber of Agriculture,” says the statesman. To prevent this phenomenon from gaining momentum, the prefectural services therefore plan to carry out “real exercises” of cyberattacks, in order to raise awareness among the Icaunais about these practices. Like the one carried out within the prefecture in June 2023, which made it possible to identify “behaviors that we had not necessarily thought of”. These exercises will concern businesses, local authorities and health establishments. “As long as we are not confronted with it, it is difficult to perceive the threat,” he knows.

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Attractiveness of the territory

However, there is no shortage of ideas. The prefect notably realized, during his numerous trips, that “99% of the municipalities in Yonne have one or more wash houses”. A criterion that should be exploited, according to him.

Living, working, thriving, the three axes of attractiveness

However, the State representative intends to think of territorial attractiveness as a global issue. And not as initiatives carried here and there, without connection. “For me, the attractiveness of Yonne depends on three points: living, working and thriving in the region. I have made these three axes the heart of the departmental version of the “France ruralités” plan, a system national plan of 80 measures aimed at making rural areas attractive.”

Of these 80 recommendations, Pascal Jan retained 18 in line with the aforementioned axes. “To bring in residents,” he continues, “you need businesses, jobs corresponding to their level of qualification and offering quality services, both in terms of education, health and culture.”

To do this, the prefect can rely on various elements of support for industry (“Territoire d’industrie”) or for city center commerce (“Action Coeur de ville” or “Small towns of tomorrow”). “Anything that goes towards revitalizing the territory is positive.” On condition that these actions are followed by results, because they are “very expensive” devices, believes Pascal Jan.

Higher Education

There remains the question of higher education, a challenge in Yonne. “It is true that young people leave because they cannot find the training they want there and then do not return. The Department has set up a first year of medicine in Auxerre, it is part of the response to attract young people. But other actions are being taken.” Like the launch, in 2022, of a Master’s degree in “Quality, hygiene, safety, environment and hydrogen” at the Auxerre Campus. First step aimed at making Auxerrois and Yonne “the first hydrogen ecosystem in France”, alongside other players such as the Schiever group based in Magny-Avallon.

Readers present today will have understood: “Attractiveness is a global issue.” Which the prefect hopes to achieve by the end of his mandate. “We will continue to develop Yonne’s strengths while trying to reduce its weaknesses!”

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Text: Arnaud Charrier

Photos: Marion Boisjot

Video: Myriam Lebret