Prefect (France)

Prefects are tasked with upholding the law in the department they serve in, including controlling the actions of local authorities.

To uphold the law, they are authorised to undertake a wide variety of actions, such as coordinating police forces, enforcing immigration rules, controlling authorities' finances, as well as suing local collectivities in the name of the State.

From 1982 to 1988, under the Socialist administration of President François Mitterrand, prefects were called commissaires de la République (the Republic's commissioners) and subprefects commissaires adjoints de la République (the Republic's deputy commissioners).

[8] Currently, the main role of the prefect is defined in article 72 of the Constitution of France: In the local governments of the Republic, the representative of the State, representing each member of the Government, is in charge of national interests, of administrative checks, and the respect of Law.The exact role and attributions are defined in decrees, most notably decrees of 1964, 1982, 2004, each replacing the preceding one.

For much of the time after 1800, the departments largely functioned as transmission belts for policies developed in Paris.