Twenty metropolitan elected officials, including seventeen mayors, are contesting the payment by the community for Christian Estrosi’s legal fees in his defamation suit against Éric Ciotti. This opposition reveals the political fractures within the Nice Côte d’Azur Metropolis, just months before the municipal elections.
The issue deeply divides the elected officials of the Nice Côte d’Azur Metropolis. A week after the metropolitan council’s vote on October 22, the opposition is organizing around a statement signed by twenty elected officials, including seventeen mayors. They all express their refusal to have the community fund the legal expenses of Christian Estrosi, the Metropolis president, in his defamation lawsuit against his political adversary Éric Ciotti.
During the council meeting, the debate lasted nearly an hour. The question was clear: is the functional protection of Christian Estrosi legitimate in this matter? The Horizons mayor of Nice filed a defamation lawsuit on November 17, 2023, against Éric Ciotti, following statements published in Nice-Matin on October 31, 2023. The UDR deputy challenged his management of the valleys after Storm Alex. The trial is set for March 27, 2026, one week after the second round of the municipal elections.
Functional protection, granted as of right on July 5, 2025, allows an elected official to have their legal fees covered by the community when attacked for actions related to the exercise of their mandate. But several elected officials consider this matter to be a personal political dispute.
“While residents face strong budget constraints, and while the metropolis has continually increased the tax burden on its taxpayers, it seems inconceivable to them that public resources are mobilized for political purposes far removed from the notion of the general interest,” write the twenty signatories in their statement on October 27, 2025.
This opposition is not insignificant. It stems from one third of the mayors in the metropolitan territory, including elected officials close to Éric Ciotti, as well as a few independents and unaffiliated ones. Some had abstained during the vote, before hardening their position in the following days.
Between political loyalty and displayed independence
The debate on the legitimacy of functional protection highlighted the tensions between the two camps already battling for the mayoralty of Nice. Five days after the council, several mayors feel the need to express their disagreement. Xavier Beck, mayor (UDR) of Cap d’Ail, stands at the forefront. “I implemented functional protection to protect civil servants, police officers who are victims of violence. That was entirely normal. But one must accept the democratic debate (…) otherwise we’ll find ourselves in court every week,” he declares.
The mayor of Carros, Yannick Bernard, who abstained on October 22, now considers the decision “entirely inappropriate. When I need budget extensions of a few tens of thousands of euros, I’m told no. I would prefer that the Metropolis’s money go to the roads in my town rather than actions I deem illegitimate.”
Similar caution exists in Venanson. Loetitia Loré, an unaffiliated mayor and a member of the UDR, criticizes a lack of information about the expenses incurred. “We cannot get the total amount of legal fees. We received no response in the metropolitan council. Will the community have to pay for the entire procedure? Is it a flat rate? There is no transparency.”
Conversely, supporters of Christian Estrosi defend a decision consistent with the law and the protection of elected officials against public attacks. Philippe Pradal, vice-president (Horizons) of the Metropolis, emphasizes the seriousness of Éric Ciotti’s statements. “I understand that democratic debate sometimes leads to excess, but we are talking about deliberate endangerment. If words have meaning, these statements are extremely serious. And they want Christian Estrosi not to defend himself.”
Accusations of interference and a political battle in the background
For those close to Christian Estrosi, this opposition mainly reflects a political maneuver orchestrated by his rival. In a statement, the Metropolis claims: “despite Éric Ciotti’s attempts at interference with the mayors of the Metropolis – who have their own free will – the functional protection granted to Christian Estrosi was adopted by 102 out of the 133 elected members.”
Estrosi’s camp emphasizes the legality of the vote and the fact that the president left the room during the debate to avoid being judge and jury. Opponents, however, denounce inappropriate use of public funds in a tense political context.
The duel between Christian Estrosi and Éric Ciotti thus goes beyond the legal framework. It is part of an old rivalry that now structures political life in Nice. As the municipal election approaches, each confrontation becomes a marker of loyalty or independence for the mayors in the territory.
On March 27, 2026, the court will have to rule on the defamation suit. A symbolic date: it takes place one week after the second round of the municipal elections. The question remains: who, between Christian Estrosi and Éric Ciotti, will then sit in the mayor’s chair in Nice.
