The Marseillaise: What assessment do you draw up of your action since taking office at the head of Toulon? ?
Josée Massi: I haven’t been in the job for very long, less than 18 months, after this tsunami which arrived in April 2023. It’s true that I have made very rapid progress, since I recall that I came on Hubert Falco’s list only in 2014, with the idea of being useful to my city, not to play politics. So, from twelfth deputy in a field that I know well, which is education and early childhood, I moved to second deputy, then first deputy. And then six months later, mayor of Toulon.
What I can say is that we are moving forward every day in all areas in accordance with the roadmap for which we were elected in 2020 and which we must respect. Even if I, of course, put my touch a little.
For example, we launched the construction of five school groups. Including that of Saint-Roch, work on which has already started, since half of the school has moved to Filippi. We also have Cousteau. But also Beaucaire, where the City bought the CAF land. A tough battle, because the developers wanted to build on this land. It’s true that a 12,000 m² plot of land in the heart of Beaucaire was something people would envy. But we fought. And alongside the school group, we will make it the counterpart of the Maison des services de Sainte-Musse. And it should go faster, since the building is usable as is. So, I think it will happen in 2025. It’s important because I’m very attached to prevention too.
The Raoulx park school group encounters some reluctance…
JM: So there, it was a choice on my part not to let the clinics go. You followed the battle, with La Crau who wanted to bring together two clinics in Toulon and Hyères. I agreed to one more construction on La Crau, not to take two away from us. There are people who have difficulty getting around, who are very happy to go to the one in Saint-Jean-du-Var. So, I worked with the Sainte-Marguerite group. Even if I didn’t appear in the newspapers. It’s kind of my method. Their concern was to expand to have more efficient technical platforms. And to find a solution, we put the map of the Saint-Jean-du-Var district on the table.
I’m sorry, but the only place where we can build is north of Raoulx Park. Be careful, this is not all of Raoulx Park. You should also know that these two schools are Pailleron type [du nom du collège parisien dont l’incendie en 1973 avait coûté la vie à 16 adolescents, Ndlr]. And that the Pinède kindergarten, which is directly above the towers of Sainte-Catherine, also receives trash. We were also forced to put up a net to protect her.
So, I consulted the educational community, principals and teachers. We met with the parents of the students.
We needed a school group that was not too far away either. The only possibility was the north of Raoulx Park. But I understand the local residents, even if they are sometimes the same ones who told me that something had to be done for Raoulx Park because it was a deal point. So, we are going to provide project management assistance to build the most ecological school possible without destroying the trees.
And above all, we will redo a park in place of the Pinède nursery school. I received local residents and we will continue to involve them in the consultation. But I repeat, we will give you a great school and we will compensate per square meter.
Concerning the major projects planned as “ from Mayol to Pipady “, we hear a bit of everything and anything. Reassure us it’s not abandoned?
JM: Not at all. It’s still in progress. and I invite you to go and see. But this doesn’t happen with a snap of the fingers. I remind you that it took us 15 years to make Chalucet. In any case, the work has begun. You may have seen that Defense has made a new access which is almost finished. It takes steps. And this was important. But given the national and international context, some adjustments will surely have to be made. We did this project in 2019 and in 5 years, a lot has happened… But there will be an opening to the sea.
Your left-wing opposition in any case recognizes the quality of your listening and the taking into account of some of their requests.
JM: It’s the way I operate. With the left opposition, I mean. Because I don’t argue with the extremes.
Otherwise everyone can have good ideas. Already, on the education side, they are rather satisfied. Either way, I believe in dialogue. There, for example, we are going to do consultation. We realized this summer that, regarding the beaches of Mourillon, we had room for improvement. We had to listen to restaurateurs, local residents and users.
So, we set up a consultation for the summer of 2025. And I tasked a municipal councilor who is also the director of the Yacht club, Pierre Parvigon, to do it with everyone to see what we can improve so that we can live better together on the beaches of Mourillon next year, in July and August, essentially, during peak attendance.
It’s a popular place where we live well together but there are a certain number of rules to remember. And perhaps instead of making ten or so decrees, we can simply make beach regulations.
Won’t these brutal state cuts in community grants endanger the development of our city?
JM: It’s certain that funding cuts will affect the city, like all communities. That’s obligatory. But we’re lucky. Because all the same, I want to say it, for 20 years, the city has been very well managed. We have a level of debt reduction of 1.4 years. I don’t think there are many municipalities in this situation. We are part of the top 3 municipalities which are getting out of debt. And we have significant savings. We will therefore be able to absorb the shock without reducing our investments. We will always remain at a level of 60 million euros.
As for the exact amount of the reduction in allocations, we will talk about it on Friday, in the municipal council during the budgetary orientation debate. But it is certain that we are at the end of the chain, since the Region, I believe, is 150 million euros. The Department, 51. The Metropolis, 15… But I repeat, we will be able to absorb. Can you imagine? Five school groups, a nautical base, the Marnata media library… Even if it’s true that we will have to be very careful. Do you have anxiety? Me, no.
What is much more worrying is that despite the state of disrepair in which the FN left Toulon in the early 2000s, the far right remains a serious threat.
JM: Exactly. Yes, it didn’t teach us a lesson, it seems. However, when we recovered the City in 2001, it was 220 million in debt. It took us three mandates to clean up our finances. So, will the people of Toulon have a short memory? I don’t know. I don’t believe it. Look, at the legislative level, it’s true, that the Var sent 8 RN deputies out of 7 to the National Assembly. But not in Toulon where Ms. Lavalette had the lowest score. So. So we will remain optimistic. And then we’re going to fight. What I can tell you is that they haven’t changed, you know…
This prompts me to ask you the question… If circumstances were necessary, would you agree to lead the list ?
JM: We’ll see. For the moment the legal proceedings are not over. There is perhaps still hope for the return of Hubert Falco who was a very great mayor. We will know all this in the first quarter of 2025.
But in case he cannot return, we will meet and there will be a list of the municipal majority. Yes, that’s for sure.
Afterwards, who will drive it? It’s a little early to say. We’ll see. We will have to see who is the person who is best able to lead the list. We are a team and I am lucky to have a solid majority. In 18 months, he hasn’t missed a single voice. There could have been divergent voices when we see the ambitions of each other elsewhere. I don’t have 40 years in politics. I’m cash. And I remain convinced that we do not share the same values with the National Rally. We will therefore have to fight the battle together.
Related News :