Simon Babre: 'I fundamentally believe in a close State'

I salute the action of the mayors of the affected communes and I insisted that they be invited this morning, as well as that of the services of the State, which made it possible to prevent the toll from being even heavier. After the declaration of the state of natural disaster for 14 communes, I can assure you that the State will continue to be by your side to support you and coordinate operations to return to normal," declared the préfet.

DRAMATIC EPISODE

He added: "This painful episode has reawakened in me, in all of us, the memory of the terrible floods in Draguignan and the Vallée de l'Argens on June 15, 2010, the 15th anniversary of which we will commemorate in a few days. They took the lives of 27 of our fellow citizens, and several of us present here were at the heart of this unprecedented crisis management. For my part, I was the directeur de cabinet of the préfet at the time, Hugues Parant, and this dramatic episode has remained deeply anchored in me." The préfet also remembered: "These painful moments, from which Var has always recovered thanks to the exceptional resilience and solidarity of its inhabitants, must engrave two fundamental requirements within us: that of never giving up on the prevention of natural risks, which are very significant in the department, requiring constant rigour and investment (in this regard, I would like to salute the good progress of the PPRI, the flood risk prevention plans, and the 5 flood prevention action programmes, the PAPI, a total investment of €244 million, of which €102 million is covered by the State, in particular thanks to the fonds Barnier, the president of the Syndicat mixte de l'Argens); and that of constantly improving our crisis prevention and management systems, at the level of communes and intercommunalities (with communal and intercommunal safeguard plans) as well as State services, the préfecture will soon be equipped with a new-generation departmental operational centre, thanks to an investment of €1.2 million."

DAILY COMMITMENT

Simon Babre also praised the actions of his predecessor, Philippe Mahé, who spent 21 intense months in this territory, and paid tribute to the work he accomplished, under sometimes difficult circumstances.

"I also want to thank all the services of the State, of the préfecture, and in particular the sous-préfets, the chefs des services déconcentrés, who prepared and facilitated my arrival. It is an honour and a great joy to represent the State in this magnificent department, which I therefore already know a little. I will strive to continue to get to know it better, sometimes to rediscover it, and above all to live with you, with all the Varoises and Varois in whose service we commit ourselves daily. For I fundamentally believe in a close State, one that listens, that understands the difficulties of our fellow citizens, their fears, their aspirations, their ambitions too, to seek the best solutions, relay messages, and always be in action, as close as possible to the ground," continued the representative of the State. "As elected officials, both national and local, you will be my privileged interlocutors and I know your irreplaceable - and sometimes difficult - role in perceiving and knowing the worries of our fellow citizens and seeking, with the State, the means to respond to them," concluded the préfet of Var.