The former mayor of Nice filed a case with the administrative tribunal on September 25, 2026 to contest two revenue titles issued by the municipality led by Éric Ciotti. The sum claimed corresponds to attorney fees covered by the local authority in two defamation cases. Christian Estrosi denounces “political persecution.”
According to Nice-Matin, Christian Estrosi filed a “request for annulment and discharge” with the Nice administrative tribunal on September 25, 2026. The former mayor is requesting the annulment of two revenue titles issued by the city of Nice, which is demanding he reimburse 50,143 euros in attorney fees incurred during his term.
The sums concern two defamation proceedings dating from the 2014-2020 period. The first, known as the David Thomson case, targeted a writer and journalist whose book Les revenants notably mentioned Christian Estrosi in connection with jihadism. The second proceeding involved David Nakache, president of the association Tous Citoyens, following the publication of a message on social media in which the activist stated “that it was necessary to put an end to clientelism and corruption in Nice.”
At the time, the municipal council had granted Christian Estrosi functional protection for these two cases. This mechanism allows a local authority to cover the legal costs of an elected official when the legal conditions are met. Both deliberations were, however, contested by Philippe Vardon, then a municipal opposition member, and subsequently annulled by the courts for different reasons.
In the David Thomson case, judges recognized that the former mayor had indeed been subject to an attack justifying functional protection. The annulment of the deliberation was based on a procedural error: the elected officials had not been informed of the exact amount of fees incurred, which was 19,330 euros.
For the David Nakache case, corresponding to 30,813 euros, the court determined that the published message was not directly aimed at Christian Estrosi and therefore did not justify granting this protection.
Christian Estrosi requests a reexamination of the Thomson case
The former municipal administration had filed appeals with the State Council to contest the annulments. After taking office as head of the city of Nice in March 2026, Éric Ciotti decided to withdraw the municipality from these appeals. The annulments thus became final, paving the way for the reimbursement claim addressed to his predecessor.
Christian Estrosi now contests the sums claimed through two separate procedures. For the David Thomson case, the former mayor is requesting that a new deliberation be submitted to a vote by the municipal council, in order to regularize the procedure. For the David Nakache case, the request aims notably to obtain the documents that allowed the City to issue the revenue title.
His attorney, Me Matthieu Avril, believes that “a new deliberation could perfectly well be considered to regularize the situation” in the Thomson case. According to him, Éric Ciotti chose to withdraw from the appeals before the State Council before requesting reimbursement of the fees incurred.
Me Avril also indicates that he submitted two appeals for reconsideration, in May and August 2026, without receiving a response. The attorney deplores a “complete silence” from the municipality.
In statements reported by Nice-Matin, Christian Estrosi’s counsel criticizes the new municipal team’s decision: “To withdraw from the appeals, refuse to reexamine functional protection that was nonetheless recognized as legally justified in one of the cases, then oppose stubborn silence to perfectly legitimate requests for justification of the sums claimed [in the Nakache case], even as Éric Ciotti regularly upholds transparency as a principle of sound management: this goes beyond the scope of a simple legal dispute.”
The attorney concludes by stating: “The political persecution that Christian Estrosi denounces from the part of the new Nice municipality continues.”
The Nice administrative tribunal must now rule on the challenge to the revenue titles and on the requests submitted by the former mayor.
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