The prefect Gilbert Payet has been for a few weeks the “technical and legal adviser” of the journalist and far-right polemicist Eric Zemmour, confirmed the senior official at World.
Aged 68, of Reunion origin, Gilbert Payet had a long career at the Ministry of the Interior, where he was civil administrator from 1981. He was then appointed Prefect of Haute-Corse, de la Nièvre, des Vosges, Saône-et-Loire, and finished as prefect of Pyrénées-Atlantiques. He was also technical advisor to Jean-Pierre Raffarin at Matignon in 2004. He was also director of courses at ENA from 2009 to 2013.
It was through Sarah Knafo, who was her ENA intern at the prefecture of Pau, that Mr. Payet came into contact with Eric Zemmour, he confirmed to us.
Another prefect, Christophe Bay, is currently the chief of staff of Marine Le Pen, a far-right presidential candidate.
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