2026 Municipal Elections: In Fréjus, Paula Fassi will lead a citizens' list against the RN

She is the first to officially launch her campaign for the 2026 municipal elections. And while she will obviously not be the only one hoping to succeed David Rachline, Paula Fassi is already proclaiming her difference. This recently retired corporate financial management consultant was on Laurence Fradj's list in 2020. However, she is now very critical of the latter's empty chair policy and indicates that she will lead a citizens' list. Named "Fréjus, our sustainable territory," it aims to represent an alternative that brings together all political sensibilities and goes beyond political posturing.

Can you tell our readers about your background?

My family moved to Fréjus during my adolescence and I quickly became involved in the community and economic life of the city. After studying accounting in Marseille, I was president of a disabled sports club in the 1980s when I was in my twenties. At the end of the 1990s, I created a humanitarian association for the blind in Vietnam, where I made regular business trips. More recently, I led a collective of local residents fighting against flooding in the Valescure valley after 2011. I also participated in the establishment of a reception center for women victims of violence in Saint-Raphaël about ten years ago. I was the patron of the local mission between 2015 and 2020 and since 2019 I have been president of the Communauté environnementale Est-Var [Ceve Ed.] which promotes sustainable economic development. Finally, I provide legal assistance to the farmers of the Préservons la vallée de l'Argens collective, created in 2023. Professionally, I have spent my entire career as a corporate financial management consultant.

What do you have to offer to the community?

I believe that my financial and legal skills will allow me to better manage the City.

Where is your team building at?

We already have some people, although we're far from having completed the list. For now, the goal is to recruit qualified people with skills and experience.

What motivated this transition from civic or community engagement to political candidacy?

Quite simply because I want to go further in this commitment to the people of Fréjus.

Is this also to oppose the National Rally municipality?

Not at all, even though with the Ceve we discussed a lot of facts about the municipality and proposed solutions that were not listened to.

What criticisms do you have of David Rachline's management?

Generally speaking, I believe the city is being managed on an ad hoc basis and without any thought for the future. Regarding financial management, which is my job, the Regional Audit Office has highlighted fundamental accounting principles that are not being respected, such as undervalued risk provisions. This threatens to weigh on future expenses. There is also insufficient oversight of the public-private partnership, which has contributed to increasing the debt...

Within the Ceve, you have mainly dealt with urban planning issues so far...

Absolutely. It's true that urban planning is also one of the stumbling blocks with the city's current management. When you want to build offices in a natural area of ​​ecological, faunal, and floral interest that serves as a natural retention basin, while people were evacuated in 2011, we ask ourselves questions. What we propose is to build in a more spacious way with more green spaces and parking.

Is this possible when the State is demanding that built-up areas be densified and artificialisation be eased?

There is room for maneuver, particularly between Caïs and the Puget commercial area. This area is intended to be built on regardless. Our goal is also to promote sustainable construction and promote home ownership. We also denounce the loss of Fréjus's character, with the lack of coherence in the city's urban development, including new buildings that do not resemble their neighbors.

Sustainable development is your credo, but will your list have a political color or even a political label?

No, it will bring together people of both right-wing and left-wing persuasions who share a commitment to citizens. We will not engage in political tactics. And while our vision is based on five pillars, including sustainable development, there are also innovation, social cohesion, education, and security, which is not the sole preserve of the National Rally.

What do you offer in terms of security?

Security isn't just about installing cameras. While it's necessary to have more municipal police officers, especially during the summer, we must above all be more proactive. For example, by better managing flood risks or the diversion of agricultural land. Protecting property and people is also about security.

By adding your candidacy to the already elected opposition lists, do you not risk playing into the hands of the existing municipality, the object of your wrath?

It would be surprising if those who did not want to unite in 2020 accused me of provoking disunity. What I propose for 2026 is not to start again with these partisan lists that are losing machines but to unite voters behind an independent list composed of citizens with diverse political and philosophical horizons. I believe that this list will be the only one capable of mobilizing the many abstainers but also the many voters disappointed by David Rachline.

However, he was re-elected in the first round of the last election...

The current legal cases and poor municipal management have weakened the mayor. He no longer has as much support as before. This can be seen in the city's social media communications, where much of the praise comes from National Rally supporters across France, rather than from Fréjus residents.

Information on the website paula-fassi.net.