Can change be implemented in the civil service?

Laurent Pellegrin’s career might seem like a natural progression, from the Saint-Cyr military academy to the ministry of the armed forces, but in fact it is the opposite. He has been an officer in command of a section of police officers in a département; the general secretary of a very sensitive, political prefecture; and a representative in the restructuring of the defence sector. It was in some of the most difficult sectors of the civil service that he developed a real talent for management based on strong values. He was in charge of the purchasing and finance department of an iconic directorate general with 150 employees who felt they had been somewhat demoted to the margins of this institution. His aim was to breathe new life and instil a newfound professional pride into this department. Successfully carrying out this objective in such a restricted world shows that even within the French administration, implementing change can bring results.