Grenoble Law SchoolLaw at the top

How does one become president of the TA?

My career path has been relatively traditional. I obtained a master's degree in public law at Lyon 3, then went on to study at Sciences Po Paris and ENA. After graduating, I joined the Ministry of the Interior, where I stayed for four years, then requested a transfer to the Council of State. I then spent a few years at the Ministry of Overseas Territories and returned to the provinces for family reasons. I then had the choice between the CRC (regional chambers of accounts) and the Administrative Court. Not liking numbers, I chose the Administrative Court! I enjoyed it, so I stayed there.
I joined the Lyon Administrative Court in 1996, first as an advisor, then as a senior advisor, and finally as vice-president from 2006 onwards. I subsequently became president of the Lyon Administrative Court of Appeal in 2013. I then served as president of the Bastia Administrative Court in 2015, where I remained for three years before taking up this position in Châlons-en-Champagne and then in Grenoble, starting in May 2021.
I enjoyed all the positions I held in these different places. I often say that, during my career, I was lucky enough to have the sea, the plains, and the mountains!

What is your role as president of the Grenoble Administrative Court?

My role is to ensure the smooth running of the court in all aspects: the general organization of the court, the distribution of colleagues and cases by chamber, the quality of legal output, etc. There are also aspects relating to the logistical management of the court, to provide the most pleasant working environment possible for colleagues, and then there are HR issues, such as replacing someone who is absent. To do this, I am assisted by a chief clerk and a deputy chief clerk.
Law is no longer at the forefront of my job. I hardly do any law anymore, even though I still preside over a chamber that deals with social disputes and driver's licenses, because these cases are less time-consuming.
Another important part of my job is managing external relations. The TA must participate in the judicial life of Grenoble, liaising with all stakeholders, particularly other courts, government agencies, the Prefect, etc.

You also actively participate in university life through your involvement in the Faculty Council and your attendance at events: why is this important to you?

It's important for raising awareness of the Administrative Court, which is not well known among our fellow citizens. And then, quite simply, I enjoy it! We have a job that could quickly become rather insular, so we need to seize opportunities to reach out to the outside world. It's important to know what's going on around us. I have always been concerned with maintaining ties with my environment in my previous positions. I am open to all requests, as far as possible of course, if I can be of help.
It is ultimately a mutually enriching experience. I learn things by participating in the Faculty Council, and the court, for its part, welcomes students and graduates.

In this capacity, do you welcome many students from the Grenoble Law School to the TA?

We welcome Master's 2 interns at TA; we have three this year, for a period of four months. We also offer introductory internships to Bachelor's 3 students.
In addition, we hire many legal assistants who are graduates of the Faculty of Law, and they are all very good!
We would also like to welcome a work-study student in the DCAP Master's program for the start of the 2026 academic year, giving us time to organize everything on the administrative side. I believe that work-study programs are the future.

What advice would you give to students who want to work in the field of administrative justice?

The typical career path consists of completing a master's degree in public law, followed by two to three years as a judicial assistant in order to prepare for the direct recruitment exam, which is a very high-level exam, but not insurmountable. Most of the young colleagues who join us are bright, thanks in part to law school!
My first piece of advice for success is really to come to the TA to discover what life is really like there. It's important to make sure at some point that you'll enjoy it. Administrative justice is unique; it's almost monastic. You have to have the mindset of a judge when dealing with your case. There is little contact with the outside world.
The required qualities are as follows: being organized, enjoying law, having a very practical mind (judgment must be accurate, understood, and applicable). It is a combination of water and fire: one must be practical and intellectual.
You also need to be mobile and go out and explore the field. Mobility is practically mandatory in government if you want to advance your career. Colleagues have the opportunity to visit different fields to understand the reality. You need to know what government is all about.
Finally, we must not forget the civil service exams that give access to clerical jobs, for which law students are very well prepared.

Given your experience, what recent developments stand out to you in terms of administrative justice?

Of course, there are constant developments in the law. If I take stock of the law as I learned it when I was a student, there is not much that is still applicable today. Nowadays, the law is more complicated but more concrete. Judges have more power than before with emergency procedures (summary judgment), injunctions, and penalties. This ensures the effectiveness of their decisions.
Digitization has also changed our daily lives. Today, files are reduced to a cardboard folder containing nothing but the signed judgment (called "la minute"), but this will soon disappear with the advent of electronic signatures. Before, we used to transport huge carts that rolled through the hallways, but all that is over now, and thank goodness! Even individuals can file their appeals online, without having to travel, via the "Télérecours citoyen" platform, which was created in 2018. We are moving towards a paperless system with this.
Teleworking has also become much more widespread. Administrative judges can now work from home using the same tools as in court, with the same security conditions. Court clerks have also been teleworking since COVID, using high-performance tools. But this raises the question of the weakening of social relations... At the beginning of my career, everyone used to visit the documentation center, where we did our research in paper journals. It was an opportunity to meet colleagues and chat. Now that all that is over, we have to organize events to get together!

And what are your thoughts on the introduction of AI in administrative justice?

AI has not yet entered the TA. However, the Council of State is conducting experiments which, for the moment, have not been successful. But I firmly believe that, given how quickly things are moving, it will be ready in two to three years. We are already seeing lawyers using tools that are starting to become well developed, particularly in large firms.
When you read in magazines that AI tools are capable of processing hundreds of court decisions to produce statistics, it's interesting. AI could also do the work for driver's license applications; all we would have to do is check them. It's a real challenge, but I'm fairly confident.
AI will help ensure the quality of the law without taking away from the judge's humanity. One of the challenges for judges is to never forget that behind the files are real people. Each case must be given the appropriate attention, never less. The time spent on a case varies greatly, from 30 minutes to over a week. But it is necessary to spend the appropriate amount of time because it is important for the person whose case is being dealt with. AI can reduce this time, but it cannot eliminate it.