David Rachline, mayor of Fréjus and vice-president of the Rassemblement National (RN), announced his resignation from the role on December 2, 2025. The move follows a controversial private photo and judicial investigations that weakened his position. Marine Le Pen confirmed she no longer wanted him in the post.
On December 2, 2025, his 38th birthday, David Rachline resigned from his roles as vice-president and executive bureau member of the Rassemblement National (RN), becoming a simple member again. Mayor of Fréjus (Var), the second-largest city run by the far-right party, and the first senator elected under the Front National label in 2014, he was a close ally of Jordan Bardella and managed Marine Le Pen's 2017 presidential campaign.
This sudden fall stems from several factors. First, a photo posted on October 9 to his private Instagram account, showing a dinner with Frédéric Chatillon and Logan Djian, former leaders of the Groupe Union Défense (GUD) with fascist and Nazi sympathies. Mediapart revealed the image nearly two months ago, but the party initially did not react, as Chatillon had been an RN contractor until 2024. Marine Le Pen viewed it as a provocation, according to her circle.
Rachline had been sidelined since late 2023, following the publication of Les Rapaces by journalist Camille Vigogne Le Coat, which exposed rigged contracts and deals with a local construction entrepreneur in Fréjus. He dismisses the claims as « pure inventions » and is suing the author, but a corruption investigation is ongoing, with searches conducted in March 2025 at the town hall and entrepreneurs' offices.
Additionally, the Draguignan correctional court will rule on January 27, 2026, in an illegal interest-taking case, where Rachline is on trial for not recusing himself from council deliberations on his appointments to two mixed-economy companies. Prosecutors seek a 10,000-euro fine and suspended ineligibility if convicted.
On X, Rachline explained his decision, stating he had withdrawn from operational roles for months « to prevent media accusations against [him] from being maliciously used to harm the RN's momentum ». He remains an « adherent » and « attached to the ideas [he has] defended since age 15 ». The RN confirmed he will not run under its banner in the March 2026 municipal elections in Fréjus, the party's showcase city.