Burgundy. Lionel Vuittenez, new regional director of VNF

Lionel Vuittenez took up his duties as regional director of Voies Navigables de France (VNF) in Central Burgundy on September ^1. He succeeds Olivier Fauriel, VNF said in a press release.

"As Chief Engineer of Bridges, Water and Forests, Lionel Vuittenez has extensive experience in the river sector and infrastructure management. He began his career in the late 1990s at the Haute-Marne Departmental Equipment Directorate, where he headed a subdivision combining roads and navigation, before heading up various services in the Departmental Territorial Directorate in Saône-et-Loire, then again in Haute-Marne. He then held responsibilities at the Rhône-Saône Territorial Directorate of VNF, where he oversaw subdivisions across the entire basin, from Haute-Saône to the Mediterranean. Previously, he was Deputy Director of the Centre-East Interdepartmental Roads Directorate, in charge of operations, safety and social dialogue, from 2018 to 2025. In this capacity, he led discussions with the Côte-d'Or departmental council and Dijon Métropole for the transfer of the A 38 and the RN 274 within the framework of the 3DS law.

For Lionel Vuittenez, "VNF manages and transports the water that feeds its network, but this resource is by nature to be shared between different uses: navigation, of course, but also drinking water, agriculture, industry, development of tourist activities."

"The challenges related to the waterways managed by the Centre-Bourgogne territorial directorate of VNF are multiple, recalls VNF: rehabilitation and modernization of reservoir dams (Panthier in Côte-d'Or, Le Plessis in Saône-et-Loire, Grand Rue in Loiret), the reconstruction of navigation dams on the Yonne, the automation of locks on all canals, the reinforcement of banks to reduce leaks, the fight against invasive plants, etc."