It took him many minutes to tell his story. It must be said that Philippe Gustin’s CV is well supplied and would have a hard time fitting on the single page often praised by recruiters. “I am an old gentleman,” he slips. At 63, the new prefect of Ille-et-Vilaine and Brittany has just settled in Rennes for a permanent contract. An appointment that surprises so much the course of the new statesman clashes. This son of a soldier from Franche-Comté first worked as a teacher before leaving for Germany to run elementary schools and then give French lessons to foreigners. Teaching? “One of the most beautiful jobs in the world”, recognizes the successor of Emmanuel Berthier, in office since 2020.
This job, Philippe Gustin, however, left aside to pass the ENA competition and open the doors of the largest French administrations. Adviser to Christine Lagarde at the Ministry of the Economy, he then accompanied Luc Chatel to the Ministry of Education before becoming French Ambassador to Romania. Even more surprisingly, he worked for the UMP for six months to straighten out a party on the brink of collapse.
“The political party is not the subject”
Before being appointed to Brittany, Philippe Gustin worked with Sébastien Lecornu, first at the Overseas Ministry and then at the Ministry of the Armed Forces. A “right-wing” profile which is surprising in a region led by the left, a department led by the left and a regional capital married to the PS since 1977. “I have already spoken with several elected officials, including the mayor of Rennes. We know we won’t always agree. But the political party is not the subject. I am a convinced democrat, I want to serve the general interest, ”assures the new representative of the State.
Already passed through Morbihan in 1999 as an ENA trainee, the Franc-Comtois had had to manage the consequences of the storm and the terrible oil spill generated by the Erika. Almost twenty-five years later, he will have to deal with other environmental problems. In a region where agriculture is a heavyweight in the economy, the problems of water and soil pollution are not lacking. But one of the priorities of the new prefect will undoubtedly be that of housing, which is becoming increasingly rare and therefore increasingly expensive in a very attractive region. “All the elected officials I spoke to told me about it. It’s a real subject. We are not going to close the doors of the region so we will need solutions, ”he assured.