LR Senator Michel Bonnus calls for a primary in Toulon for the 2026 municipal elections

The words are weighed, chosen with care. "Today, the most important thing is the future of the city . And I don't want someone who would cut it in two, like Laure Lavalette," Michel Bonnus prefaces .

"But to beat the National Rally in 2026, it is imperative that there be only one majority list. This is why I am calling for the organization of a primary within our camp, so that we can choose the candidate who will best defend our chances next year, during the municipal elections."

The idea of ​​a primary "over four or five days in September" , open to all Toulon residents, is unprecedented on the scale of the capital of Var.

But the fact that the Republican senator, who has been in the pre-campaign phase for months, is proposing it today is anything but a coincidence.

A meeting is scheduled for this Monday at the town hall, to which elected officials from the center-right majority have been summoned. The goal? "To prepare for the future of Toulon" in general, and the 2026 elections in particular.

Elected officials want to turn the page on Hubert Falco

In the middle of the play, they will meet Mayor Josée Massi, but also and above all Hubert Falco. Although definitively convicted of receiving stolen public funds , the former mayor seems determined to still weigh on the political game. And impose his protégé, who could be his former first deputy.

Not invited to this conclave, shunned by Hubert Falco, who criticized him for having displayed his ambitions despite the legal news, Michel Bonnus deplores being "blacklisted" by part of his political family before the upcoming electoral battle. Especially since the parliamentarian believes he holds the cards to beat the National Rally and Laure Lavalette next year.

"I think I have a real plan for this city," he explains. "I have ideas on education, on sports, on neighborhoods, on public transportation, on participatory democracy... If we don't really think about it and just defend a record, we're heading for disaster. I've built a twenty-year vision."

To the point of wanting to impose it on the majority's elected officials? "On the contrary, " he assures. " I'm not obsessed with the mayor's seat. If Josée Massi wins the primary, I'll line up behind her."

It remains to be seen whether Michel Bonnus's call for an election, which he says he is "ready to finance," can be heard by his colleagues. It is said that elected members of the municipal council are beginning to doubt that Josée Massi, despite being the outgoing mayor, has the stature to take on Laure Lavalette.

"I'm in favor of everyone putting a name on a ballot and seeing which one comes out," confides one deputy. "The problem is that Hubert Falco wants to continue pulling the strings while we just want to move on," fumes another.

Despite the Court of Cassation's decision and a sentence of ineligibility running until 2028, the former minister still intends to play a leading role . At 78, he wants to regain control and continues to believe in his chances of returning in the medium term, once his sentence has been served.

But to remain "the boss," he would first have to impose a "soft" candidacy in the municipal elections, one that wouldn't overshadow him too much. Like that of Josée Massi, his former first deputy?

The calendar as a justice of the peace?

One thing is certain: a race against time has begun. Michel Bonnus, who has been preparing for nearly a year with the support of the Les Républicains party, knows that it's best not to come out of the woodwork too late, or he'll risk being seen as the "Louis Colombani of 1995."

Hoping to turn the page on his health problems this summer, he had planned to announce his candidacy in September. Now he fears that the "Falco machine" will work against him, going into overdrive as early as June.

Enjoying a high popularity rating and a solid network, the former rugby player and restaurateur knew that nothing would be easy in his quest for city hall.

At his first public meeting nine months ago, he had these premonitory words: "We must be united. Some will try to turn us against each other..."