Philippe Leonelli: "The new majority must assume its choices"

The political truce was short-lived in Cavalaire-sur-Mer. In an official press release, the former municipal team led by Philippe Leonelli reacted strongly to the new mayor's recent statements, accusing him of presenting an "inaccurate and distorted" vision of the municipality's major issues. The stated objective of this statement is to "set the record straight" in the face of a strategy which, according to them, aims to "justify the lack of action by shifting the responsibility onto the former municipal team."

The former elected officials believe that the campaign time is over and that the new majority must now "assume its choices and implement the promises" for which it was elected.

Philippe Leonelli : « La nouvelle majorité doit assumer ses choix »

CŒUR DE VILLE: A DETAILED FINANCING PLAN At the heart of the tensions is the emblematic Cœur de Ville project, which the new administration reportedly presents as unfunded. Philippe Leonelli's team formally contests this analysis and details a financing plan that it deems solid and documented. This plan would rely on €17 million in self-financing acquired by the end of 2025, €7 million in guaranteed FCTVA (Fonds de compensation pour la taxe sur la valeur ajoutée), and €3.3 million from the Communauté de communes for the Conservatoire de danse.

The financial package would also include 600,000 euros from the Département for the cinema, as well as contributions currently being negotiated, such as 1.7 million for the Médiathèque with the DRAC (Direction régionale des Affaires culturelles) and €300,000 from the CNC (Centre national du cinéma). In addition, €5 million would be requested from partners such as Europe or the State. The former team also mentions "advanced discussions with the Banque des Territoires for a €21 million loan," not without criticizing the new majority along the way, which reportedly mentioned the Banque de France, "which is absolutely not authorized to lend to local authorities, which nevertheless shows how little control they have over the files," as announced in their first press release.

The whole package, they insist, would fit into a rigorous budget outlook validated by the town hall services.

SUBSIDIES NOT TO BE LOST The former elected officials recall a fundamental rule of public projects: Subsidies are built up over time and are mostly paid out after the work is completed. They assert that questioning this financial setup amounts to doubting the competence of municipal services and demand the transparent publication of all financial studies. The press release also raises a crucial question regarding the consequences of stopping the projects.

"Stopping projects of this scale will inevitably lead to financial consequences: penalties, litigation risks, and heavy compensation," warns the former team, which requests that the exact amount of this compensation be communicated to the Cavalairois. URGENCY AT THE PORT AS THE SEASON APPROACHES Regarding the port, the situation is deemed urgent. The arguments of the new team concerning pollution problems are swept aside: according to the press release, it is a simple "rubble storage problem, for which the project manager has been given formal notice."

More seriously, inaction could be costly. A one-million-euro subsidy allocated by the Cerema (Centre d'études et d'expertise sur les risques, l'environnement, la mobilité et l'aménagement) is conditional on the work starting before the end of 2025. Failure to act would be synonymous with giving up and would penalize the local economy as the summer season approaches.

ASSUMING A RECORD AND POLITICAL CHOICES Philippe Leonelli and his former running mates conclude by reaffirming that they fully assume their projects and choices, notably the financial recovery of the municipality, which reduced the debt reduction period from 28 years in 2014 to less than 2 years projected in 2025. For them, the new team must now stop looking for excuses in the past and implement its own campaign commitments, such as halting the Cœur de Ville and Ecobleu projects and lowering the property tax. "A Municipality is not run with excuses.

It is run with courage, truth, responsibility, and action," the press release firmly concludes.