Former Toulon Mayor Hubert Falco Finally Convicted of Embezzlement of Public Funds

The sentence has been handed down for the former Var political baron. The Court of Cassation has just upheld the conviction handed down by the Aix-en-Provence Court of Appeal last May against Hubert Falco . The latter had appealed to the High Court after being found guilty on May 14, 2024, of "concealment of embezzlement of public funds" in the so-called "Falco fridge" affair. On appeal, the former mayor of Toulon was sentenced to an 18-month suspended prison sentence, a €30,000 fine, and, above all, a five-year ineligibility period with provisional execution, leading to his immediate resignation from his mandates as mayor of Toulon and president of the Toulon Provence Méditerranée metropolitan area . This resignation took effect in April 2023 following the judgment at first instance.

The former elected official had improperly benefited, between 2002 and 2018, from free meals at the headquarters of the Var departmental council, of which he was no longer president and had not been a member for several years. He is also accused of having used dry cleaning fees paid for by the community's public funds . During his appeal judgment, Hubert Falco admitted to having regularly eaten lunch at the Departmental Council but refuted the other charges. This case of embezzlement was revealed in 2016 thanks to the testimony of a chef at the departmental headquarters, then confirmed by other witnesses. This chef committed suicide during the investigation. He had declared that he had been the victim of harassment since his revelation. The "Falco fridge" affair created a real political earthquake in Toulon. Hubert Falcon, a figure in Var politics, former LR turned Macronist, had been re-elected three times in the first round as head of the city's town hall.

Before the Court of Cassation – to which the former mayor filed an appeal to contest his immediate ineligibility – his lawyer, Hélène Farge, argued at the end of April that " none of the grounds " upheld by the Court of Appeal were consistent with recent decisions of the Constitutional Council regarding the provisional execution of the deprivation of mandate. This interpretation of a statement by the "wise men" considered that it was up to the judge " to assess the proportionality of the infringement that this measure is likely to cause to the exercise of a current mandate and the preservation of the freedom of the elector ." The Advocate General, for his part, issued an opinion against the appeal while acknowledging doubts about the conformity of the conviction of the former mayor of Toulon.

The Court of Cassation's rejection of Hubert Falco's appeal renders his conviction final. He is therefore no longer eligible to run for office, particularly in the upcoming municipal elections in 2026. The National Rally , which has great ambitions in the Var region, hopes to take advantage of this opportunity.