"A democratic accident": a look back at the National Front's surprise victory 30 years ago in Toulon

Those who knew him, like his former deputy Didier Gestat de Garambé, readily describe him as "a well-rounded, affable, cultured man who loved to joke." A man well-versed in the pleasure of conversation, who enjoyed a good cigar at the end of a meal. But according to the former elected official for legal affairs, Jean-Marie Le Chevallier "was clearly not hardworking enough for the position of mayor..."

Having initially joined the Giscardians (the Independent Republicans), Jean-Marie Le Chevallier had already made his mark in politics by the time he arrived at the foot of Mount Faron. It was his friendship with Jean-Marie Le Pen—he had hosted him in 1976, the day after the attack that destroyed his Parisian home—that would eventually lead him to the National Front.

"The real boss was Poulet-Dachary"

Elected as a Member of the European Parliament in 1984, the man moved to Toulon in 1989, the date on which he failed for the first time in the municipal elections. Before his improbable success in 1995; his wife Cendrine, whom he calls " Little Heart" , was an ever-present elected official at his side. "The problem is that this city has never fascinated him," confides Dominique Michel, another of his former deputies. "He shouldn't have been mayor, but Jean-Marie Le Pen wanted to reward him. The real boss of the list was Jean-Claude Poulet-Dachary."

Regarding Jean-Marie Le Chevallier, journalist José Lenzini has even harsher words, stating that he was "always drunk. " His former colleague at Var-matin, Jean-Pierre Bonicco, recalls that he was nicknamed "Whisky-Temesta" for his supposed propensity to swallow alcohol and tranquilizers! "If I had to define Le Chevallier, I would say that his best move was to make the people of Toulon believe that he existed."

A bitter failure in 2001

Despite his good nature, the Hauts-de-Seine native never managed to rally behind him and leave his mark on the city, like the other mayors of the capital of the Var region. In 1999, in disagreement with Jean-Marie Le Pen, he left the National Front and ended his term alone. "He was probably not the right man for the job," Amaury Navarranne, a National Rally elected official, concedes today.

After a resounding defeat in the 2001 elections (7.8% of the vote) , Jean-Marie Le Chevallier left Toulon and politics to settle in Marrakech. He died on October 30, 2020 at the age of 83.