 He then became Director General of Public Planning in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines from 1988 to 1993.In 1998 he finally became Engineer General of Roads.Elected Adviser General of the Pyrénées-Orientales in 1992, he became Mayor of Perpignan without any competition in June 1993 after a partial election, succeeding his father who had occupied the post since 1959.