prefect, in France, a high government official, similar to the intendant before the French Revolution. The French prefectoral corps was created in 1800 by Napoleon Bonaparte, who endowed it with great prestige and influence. At that time the prefects were the administrators of the départements; they were responsible for public order and good government and for ensuring that the policy of the central government was effectively carried out throughout the country. Napoleon called them empereurs au petit pied (“miniature” or “small-scale emperors”).
Under succeeding regimes the power of the corps increased, but its prestige declined. Since they were dependent for office on the whim of the central government, the prefects became concerned primarily with police and elections, and one of their principal functions was to ensure the government a safe parliamentary majority. They reached the height of their power under the Second Empire (1852–70). During the first decades of the Third Republic (1870–1940), the position was weakened by the frequent nomination of new men by successive governments. The prefects, however, became increasingly concerned with social and economic problems, and after World War II, while retaining responsibility for public order and good government, they became the dynamic element in the provinces for promoting and coordinating social policies.
The prefectoral system continued into the Fifth Republic (from 1959). One prefect was responsible for each département, and subprefects were responsible for the arrondissements within the département. Prefects were appointed by the president of the republic and were responsible to the minister of the interior. The prefect was the general administrator of the département, the chief executive officer of its general council (the locally elected departmental assembly), and the principal police authority. He was also the supervisor of the communes (local and municipal governments) in the département, and his approval was required for many administrative acts of these local authorities. After France’s départements were grouped into larger administrative units called régions (1955–64), a prefect appointed by the national government administered each région with the help of a regional council.
Under the decentralization law of 1982, many of the powers of the prefect were transferred to presidents elected by councils in the départements and régions. The prefects were renamed commissaires (commissioners), and their main responsibility was to ensure that regional and departmental authorities were complying with national legislation. The law was subsequently modified to restore some of the authority previously held by the prefect, and the title of prefect was reintroduced in 1986.