A few days after the conviction of the mayor of Toulon Hubert Falco, Charles Berling is still “in shock”. The actor and director, director of the Liberté theater since its creation in 2011 in downtown Toulon, close to the man who has run the city and the metropolis since 2001, says he is “worried”. Hubert Falco, 75, was sentenced on Friday to five years of ineligibility, with immediate effect, and the confiscation of 55,000 euros for having taken advantage, for many years after the end of his mandate in 2002, of the canteen and the pressing of the Departmental Council of the Var. An earthquake in the Mediterranean city which thought it was done with this type of political upheaval.
Le Point: With a little hindsight, do you understand the conviction of Hubert Falco?
Charles Berling: I’m in shock. I am not contesting a court decision, but I would like to bring nuance to the situation of Hubert Falco. Admittedly, he made a mistake and is punished. But he also has a fantastic record at Toulon. His career shouldn’t end just like that. This is where I am shocked.
Afraid that’s all we remember?
It’s not rotten, as you might say of some other politicians. It was he who wanted a theater in downtown Toulon and who offered me the direction. He has always been totally supportive of us. He has a genuine faith in culture and public service. Continuity in politics is fundamental and he embodied it. I hope that the new direction of the Metropolis will continue.
Think it won’t?
Hubert Falco is a human being who embodied a vision of politics. He has his faults and his qualities, but he has always acted like a human. I hope that the others will continue this strong cultural policy. I know the course of culture in Toulon, including in its worst hours. The offer has been increased in recent years, by the contribution of museums or the villa Noailles.
Do you have a sense of waste?
Yes, of course there is a sense of waste. Hubert Falco was not vigilant enough about what he was accused of. He also recognized it. He could be condemned for his faults, but the ineligibility pronounced immediately, this precipitation of the judge, is very hard. I’m wondering. And there is a potential for political destabilization which is enormous in Toulon. It pains me a lot.
Renaud Muselier evoked “double standards” compared to other condemned politicians, but still in activity…
I repeat not contesting the court decision, but yes, I agree. Seeing Hubert Falco fall so violently and quickly, even though he is not corrupt, is horrible. I am going, with other artists, to commit myself so that there is a balance, a counterweight to this condemnation which risks making people forget the rest. Despite his faults, he is not at all in the line of Maurice Arreckx or Jean-Marie Le Chevalier. I always felt in him the will to defend a territory. This is not to caricature it.
Is Toulon cursed because of its policies?
We absolutely want to give back to Toulon the image from which it was beginning to emerge. This city has grown and changed. We also have to say it. You can’t destroy what you admired not long ago. Hubert Falco has always left me free to choose. It is very valuable. It is the expression of a respectful policy. We saw it with the reception of migrants at the Liberté theater or with a very controversial exhibition by Tadashi Kawamata. Falco took it in the face, but he let me.
Are you worried about him, psychologically?
I’m worried about him, yes. Political careers like his are those of a lifetime. It’s probably because of that that he could have been blinded and made mistakes. But, as a friend, I’m worried. What is happening to him is extremely violent. He is in front of the abyss. It was not the Toulonnais who told him to stop. He will more than suffer. People say “all rotten”. Let them come and see us on the Toulon stage. Like politicians, we give our whole life.
