Jean-Marie Girier used his first hours as Alpes-Maritimes préfet on Monday to lay out a roadmap built around security, water, housing, economic development and cross-border cooperation, according to Petites Affiches.
Girier, 42, arrives from the Pyrénées-Atlantiques after previous postings in the Territoire de Belfort and Vienne, and said he intends to govern through "impartiality, neutrality and fairness," paired with dialogue, trust and proximity to local elected officials. "A préfet doesn't decide alone in his office," he said, adding he planned to multiply meetings with local representatives from his earliest days in the role.
On housing, Girier said he would continue his predecessor's plan while organising a territorial housing conference with local stakeholders before the end of the year, citing the tension in coastal property markets. On water, he announced new Assises de l'Eau to debate fair sharing of the resource between domestic, agricultural, tourism and industrial users amid worsening drought conditions. Security remained his first-listed priority, with Girier visiting the Ariane district alongside the anti-crime brigade on his first evening in post, followed by a planned visit to the Moulins district, and a border cooperation trip to Menton the same week. Asked whether his past ties to President Macron's 2017 campaign would shape his approach, Girier said plainly: "I will not be a political préfet."