Jonathan Fayeton – Crisis management exercises: a test of the state? Or the state’s role put to the test by crisis management

Crisis management exercises, which originated in the military, are now common practice in civil society. In recent history, their number and visibility have increased significantly, particularly in the context of the state’s response to the 2015 terrorist attacks. They are therefore one of the main tools used by crisis management organisations to prepare for events that threaten the public.

To fulfil this mission, the exercises are designed as crisis simulations that are as realistic as possible, with the dual aim of providing training and identifying weaknesses in crisis management systems that need to be addressed. However, observation of the exercises organised by the General Secretariat of the Paris Defence and Security Zone – a department of the Paris Police Prefecture – allows these objectives to be verified only partially.

To explain this apparent difficulty, one must consider the overlapping of two objectives assigned to these exercises. The first, the official one, focuses on protecting the population. The second, though implicit, is a priority: it involves protecting the state, whose very legitimacy and identity – which are, in fact, founded on the protection of the population – are called into question by the onset of crises.

Composition of the jury:

• Pascal Ughetto, Professor, Gustave Eiffel University, Chair of the jury
• Valérie November, Research Director, CNRS, PhD Supervisor and Examiner
• Olivier Borraz, Research Director, CNRS, PhD supervisor and examiner
• Myriam Mokhtari Merad, Research Director, CNRS, Examiner and Rapporteur
• Paolo Crivellari, Senior Lecturer, University of Toulouse 3, Examiner and Rapporteur
• Marie-Léandre Gomez, Professor, ESSEC, Examiner