Totems et tabous : le corps préfectoral, l’État et le secteur public

Résumé :

Definitions of the State given by French prefects and under-prefects reveal the omnipresence of an institution, the aims of which are broadly interpreted : the State is an institution which protects, defends and ensures a harmonious society. The State is a force able to impose itself whenever the notion of the public sector cornes into play, even if prefects are also called to take into account the idea of the private sector. The result is that prefects employ a modemist discourse, underlining the archaic, if not the weighty, nature of the administration, while still defending its human and egalitarian dimension.