RN mayor of Fréjus, David Rachline, was acquitted on January 27 by the Draguignan court in a case of illegal interest taking. Upon leaving the courtroom, he announced his candidacy for the March municipal elections, stating that this ruling confirms his integrity. He still faces a September trial for favoritism.
David Rachline, mayor of Fréjus for the Rassemblement national (RN) in the Var department, was acquitted on January 27, 2026, by the Draguignan correctional court. Aged 38, he faced charges of illegal interest taking related to his appointment as head of two mixed economy companies, Fréjus Aménagement and Gestion du port de Fréjus, between 2017 and 2020. These positions allowed him to receive an additional monthly remuneration of about 1,000 euros. The court accused him of influencing municipal council deliberations that approved these appointments, often by show of hands, without leaving the room.
At the September 30 hearing, Mr. Rachline defended his actions: “I never intended to exert particular pressure,” he assured, explaining that he trusted the municipal services director to alert him to conflicts of interest. “Everything is public, there’s nothing hidden,” he added, stressing he acted “solely in Fréjus’s interest.”
The prosecution had sought a 30,000-euro fine, 20,000 suspended, public display of the conviction in the town hall, and a one-year ineligibility with suspension. The court ruled for acquittal, and the prosecution has ten days to appeal.
Upon exiting, Mr. Rachline expressed relief: “I’ve been fighting for months to defend my honesty and integrity. Today, it’s clearly confirmed. And I’m very happy about it. This is the context in which I’m launching into this electoral campaign [for the municipals], in the most serene way possible.”
A rising RN figure—municipal councilor at 20, mayor and senator at 26, and Marine Le Pen’s 2017 presidential campaign director—Mr. Rachline’s standing has weakened. In December 2025, he resigned as RN vice-president after a custody stint for favoritism. He is due in court on September 22 with collaborators over alleged irregular awarding of public contracts to a security firm linked to a close associate.
In 2023, Camille Vigogne Le Coat’s book Les Rapaces accused him of deals with a local construction entrepreneur, dismissed as “pure inventions” by Mr. Rachline, who is suing the journalist. The National Financial Prosecutor’s Office opened a corruption probe.
