From May 19 to 22, 2026, the Côtes-d’Armor received the first week of the 250e session in the Brittany region of the IHEDN, focused on the major strategic issues of defense and national security.
The inaugural day, held at the Departmental Council of Saint-Brieuc in the presence of the Prefect of Côtes-d’Armor, was the opportunity to open this exceptional session – the 250e of the kind – in front of fifty-two listeners from the public and private, civil and military sectors. Ambassador Pierre Lévy, Chairman of the IHEDN Board of Directors, brought his perspective on the major trends in the contemporary world, drawing on his experience as French Ambassador to a Russia at war.
The territorial dimension of the week was highlighted through an intervention by INSEE Bretagne providing a socio-economic overview of the region, an essential prerequisite for understanding local defense and resilience issues. The visit to the Côtes-d’Armor departmental fire and rescue service allowed the auditors to gain a concrete understanding of the crisis management and civil security systems deployed in the region.
The week also extended closer to the Costa Rican economic fabric with the visit of the European leader in armor and mobile protection Centigon France to Lamballe. The listeners then discovered the Anticipa Technopole in Lannion, a unique ecosystem in France due to the density of its innovative companies in digital, photonics and cybersecurity, more than twenty of which work directly for National Defense.
A memorial sequence at the College Le Braz de Saint-Brieuc, linked to the history of 71e Infantry Regiment, came to remind us of the deep roots of the military in Breton identity.
This memorial sequence takes on a particular dimension this year. As part of the commemoration of the 90th anniversary of the IHEDN, the 250e session in the Brittany region inaugurates an unprecedented partnership with the Order of the Liberation: listeners are invited to choose, among the Companions of the Liberation, the name which will baptize their promotion. An innovation which anchors this anniversary session in the memory of those who forged, at the risk of their lives, the sovereignty and freedom of France – values at the heart of the IHEDN mission since its creation in 1936.
Enriched by this first week of demanding training, the auditors will meet in Brest on Tuesday May 26 for a week of internship dedicated to the discovery of our armies and France’s defense tools
