Even before his official appointment, on March 14, Gilles Halbout had already been roaming the offices on rue de Varenne for several days. The former rector of the Orléans-Tours academy, who takes on his new role as head of the “education, higher education, youth and sports” division in the office of Prime Minister Gabriel Attal, is the latest to join the very closed list of “education advisors”, or “educ”, who work in the shadow of the Elysée, Matignon and the Ministry of National Education. A choice which is not surprising since this former rector of Mayotte, after having been a major player in the Montpellier university landscape, knows the world of education as well as that of higher education. “But he undoubtedly owes his position to the relationship of trust that he established with Gabriel Attal during the latter’s visit to Rue de Grenelle,” analyzes a fine connoisseur of the workings of the Rochechouart hotel.
The current Prime Minister had closely followed the actions carried out by Gilles Halbout in the Overseas Academy. His work “is a reference for me”, he confided to World on October 6. “When he was rector of Mayotte, Gilles Halbout, renowned for his pragmatism, his capacity for exchange and dialogue, undertook interesting policies, such as the establishment of a single reading manual. He also put a lot of effort into emphasis on fundamental teaching in early grades”, explains Caroline Pascal, head of the general inspection of education, sport and research. With Gilles Halbout, Stanislas Dehaene, the president of the Scientific Council of National Education and Edouard Geffray, general director of school education, she was one of the four coordinators of the recent “Requirement of knowledge” mission. This vast consultation was the starting point for the series of reforms launched immediately by Gabriel Attal: establishment of level groups, facilitation of the use of repeating a year, project to label textbooks or even creation of prep-high school classes for students. who will fail the patent.
So many measures that the new tenant of Rue de Grenelle, Nicole Belloubet, must implement with the support of her advisors. A handful of ministerial collaborators work discreetly behind the scenes. Brigitte Hazard, former territorial inspector and then general of National Education, has just joined the minister’s office in the strategic position of “special advisor”. It was she who, as part of the baccalaureate reform, was responsible for monitoring the implementation of the evaluation project and continuous monitoring from 2021 to 2023. “Brigitte Hazard, thanks to her years of inspection, has a very good knowledge of the field and the staff, whether teachers, inspectors and management staff. She will be able to carefully analyze the reactions of these different actors when the measures are implemented.” continues Caroline Pascal.
“The power of influence is in the hands of their bosses”
Qualities considered essential at a time when certain reforms, such as that concerning the establishment of level groups in 6th and 5th grade, in French and mathematics, from the next school year, are causing an outcry from the unions and some teachers. The recent waltz of ministers – four in less than two years! – also made the task of advisors more complex. “The controversies which followed after the arrival of Amélie Oudéa-Castéra have greatly disrupted social dialogue. But we know well that the minister does not do everything. The most important thing is his collaborators, explains one of the representatives of SNPDEN-Unsa, the majority union of principals. However, during this period of uncertainty which followed the departure of Gabriel Attal, we were able to maintain the link and continue our exchanges with certain members of the cabinet, including Valentine Tchou-Conraux , who had been there since August 2023.” The social advisor of Rue de Grenelle is a former middle school principal and high school principal… who served as academic secretary of SNPDEN-Unsa in Lyon before joining the ministry.
Working alongside him is also the educational advisor Cécile Laloux. Arriving a year ago, this former national education inspector joined the General Directorate of School Education (Dgesco) in 2017, where she was responsible for the mission of preventing and combating violence in schools. A subject which is also one of the major priorities of the moment. In March 2023, she became chief of staff of the rector of Reims, Olivier Brandouy, who today holds the position of deputy director of Nicole Belloubet’s office. Another advisor set up shop on rue de Grenelle in January: David Foltz, in charge of respecting the values of the Republic and the Universal National Service. Two other important files inherited by this former ENA student who was educational coordinator of the school’s equal opportunities preparatory class between 2018 and 2020. In June 2022, the senior civil servant joined Amélie Oudéa’s cabinet -Castéra at the Ministry of Sports and Olympic Games. It was he who, among other things, coordinated the conference on the twenty years of the 2004 law which was held at the Denis-Diderot high school in the 19th arrondissement of Paris on March 15.
What is the real power of influence of these gray eminences and their room for maneuver in the face of a President of the Republic who has made education his “reserved domain”, and a Prime Minister who has “taken the cause to Matignon from school” and which he confided in an interview with AFP on March 13 that he had “never lost the thread”? “The power of influence is rather in the hands of their respective bosses, who dictate the political line. To summarize, it is they who give them the order. It is then up to the advisors to monitor the progress of the reforms, to define the pace of action, to identify possible risks and blockages on the ground, but also to liaise with parliamentarians”, explains a former advisor who knows all the subtleties of the role.
Between the Elysée and Rue de Grenelle, Eric Thiers can provide the link. Nicole Belloubet’s chief of staff was in fact previously… advisor to Emmanuel Macron, in charge of institutions. The sign that the President of the Republic keeps more than one eye on education. On March 11, Thiers also hosted a “brief” for the press… on the law on the end of life, one of the issues followed during his previous position. He remains on good terms with his former employer.
The positions of advisors at the Elysée are more than ever among the most coveted, while education is regularly brandished as one of the priorities of the five-year term by Emmanuel Macron. Constance Bensussan, former chief of staff to Aurore Bergé at the Ministry of Solidarity and Families, inherited the title of special social, education and fight against inequalities advisor in December. This former general inspector of social affairs is a regular here since she had already held the position of advisor on inclusion, equality between women and men and citizenship under Emmanuel Macron’s first five-year term. At the Elysée, she now forms a duo with Anne Laude, another education, higher education, research and innovation advisor. The former dean of the faculty of law, economics and management at Paris-Descartes University between 2014 and 2019, who subsequently served as rector of Limoges, joined the Palace four years ago. “Duration strengthens one’s ability to act. It’s a major asset for a function like this,” breathes one of his former colleagues. Just like discretion.
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