On her Facebook page, Laure Lavalette proudly poses with the tunic of the Rugby club Toulonnais (RCT). The National Rally (RN) MP, candidate for the next municipal elections, knows the importance of the oval ball in the Var commune.
Friday, she formalized the identity of number 2 on her list to conquer Toulon: David Gérard. This is not just anyone for rugby fans. “Minot du Mourillon, young RCT, French and European champion, international player, coach, selector: David Gérard is a figure of sporting commitment in our city,” writes the parliamentarian in a press release published on social networks.
In the event of election, Laure Lavalette wishes to entrust the former player of the XV of France, now coach of Romania, with the role of deputy for sports in the city. The far-right elected official sees in the former second row, never before the RCT pro team, “a training expert and a manager to support our associations, our clubs and our athletes”.
Strengthen ties with city clubs
“Toulon must once again become a sporting city, for everyone”: this is the mission that Laure Lavalette intends to entrust to David Gérard.
In a video showing him alongside the candidate, the former rugby player reveals his intentions for his hometown. “With Laure Lavalette, we will set up a one-stop shop for sport to finally simplify the lives of licensees and associations,” he promises. David Gérard also wants to lay the foundations of a “training center for sports executives to provide the city with the supervisors necessary for the centers and schools”. The former sportsman is also campaigning for “the organization of international tournaments” in Toulon and wishes to promote “the development of facilities in each neighborhood”.
His political action must finally, specifies Laure Lavalette, strengthen the town hall’s links with the city’s major sporting institutions. “I hope that the supporters, players, managers and managers of our major clubs will find a real municipal contact and no one is more appropriate than David Gérard,” enthuses the Var MP.
An officially unlabeled list
The Romanian coach is not the only athlete to appear on the list led by Laure Lavalette. Frédéric Seillier, former European boxing champion, is also one of them. In the past, he had already engaged with Hubert Falco, deposed mayor after his setbacks with the law.
According to Laure Lavalette’s entourage, around half of her running mates are not part of the RN. Moreover, the list is officially without a label, although it is supported by the party founded by Jean-Marie Le Pen.
Laure Lavalette can harbor legitimate ambitions: Toulon was one of the first large cities won in 1995 by the late National Front, during a single mandate of Jean-Marie Le Chevallier. The latter left the vivid memory of a disastrous management but the electoral ground remains favorable to the ideas of the RN.
To gain access to Toulon town hall, Laure Lavalette will have to obtain better results than Michel Bonnus, Les Républicains senator dubbed by Hubert Falco. The academic Magali Brunel will lead the left-wing “Toulon en commun” list.
Worth a look
