Jo Minniti elected vice-president of TPM, not without a stir in La Seyne

This was supposed to be a formality. Since Nathalie Bicais was no longer mayor of La Seyne following her conviction of ineligibility by the courts (see our previous editions) , it was a matter of electing her replacement as vice-president of the Metropolis.

Only one candidate was proposed by President Jean-Pierre Giran: Jo Minniti , who has been in power in the second largest city in the Var region for a month. The outcome of the secret ballot left little room for doubt.

And indeed the mayor of La Seyne was approved by 70 of his colleagues (8 blank votes and 3 invalid votes were also counted).

However, this decision has sparked debate within the assembly and major tensions outside it.

"He was elected with the votes of the National Rally."

The turmoil came from Guillaume Capobianco. The opposition politician from La Seyne, close to Jean-Pierre Colin, insisted on recalling the conditions of Jo Minniti's election to the mayor's chair, "in the third round of voting and due to his age. But especially with the votes of the National Rally."

And if Guillaume Capobianco does not dispute "the evidence that it is the mayor of La Seyne who occupies the post of vice-president" , he rather directs these attacks towards the other vice-president of La Seyne, Cheikh Mansour. "It is he who negotiated with the RN, he accuses . It is still him who makes publications which smell of brown (...) And I will spare you the number of publications where the vice-president Mansour puts a pretty heart to his new friend Laure Lavalette..."

The room becomes agitated, some boo. Guillaume Capobianco nevertheless continues his momentum: "I ask you to include his replacement on the next agenda as soon as possible."

Virulent reactions from Jo Minniti

For Jean-Pierre Giran, president of TPM, this speech is nothing more than "personal attacks" that have no place in the assembly. "I have no business interfering in the affairs of La Seyne. The ways of democracy are impenetrable," he declared.

The atmosphere became even more tense during the secret ballot. Guillaume Capobianco then approached Jo Minniti and an argument broke out. The two men even got into a fight before being separated by their neighbors.

"You have a small glimpse of what we go through during municipal council meetings," the mayor of La Seyne explained at the end of the session. "These individuals practice politics through threats, lies, and compromise. What they don't buy, they try to obtain by force."

The Sandra Torres case

Changes at the head of the La Seyne town hall have led to appointments to various metropolitan commissions.

Sandra Torres's statement prompted a reaction from opponent Cécile Muschotti.

"When a name is publicly associated with a legal case affecting public funds and trust in institutions, which is certainly the subject of an appeal, caution is called for. A deliberative assembly must be as irreproachable in its choices as in its principles."