As we mentioned on Wednesday, the mayor of Lyon Gérard Collomb formed an alliance with the right after a meeting with his ex-rival Laurent Wauquiez. This agreement, which he formalized Thursday, sees him fade behind the candidate LR for the strategic presidency of the metropolis.
"I proposed from our first meeting that François-Noël Buffet be a candidate for the metropolis of Lyon," he said during a press conference. "Today, we want a union to face the crisis and allow the reconstruction of Lyon - a union which we hope will expand in the coming days," he added.
Unique in France, the metropolis is the real seat of the Lyonnais power insofar as it concentrates on its territory the prerogatives of the department and the communities of commune. His presidency was the initial objective of Gérard Collomb, who carried it to the baptismal font. But his poor score in the first round made this ambition almost impossible.
"I will continue to commit ..."
The former Minister of the Interior, who will be 73 years old in June, said he wanted to continue "to work in the metropolis and in the city of Lyon". "I will continue to commit myself for some time," he said simply, without giving further details on his calendar and his future role.
In the city of Lyon alone, his foal, former gymnast Yann Cucherat, will be the candidate for the new alliance. The candidate LR Etienne Blanc, a close friend of Laurent Wauquiez in the region, has indeed agreed to leave him at the top of the list.
Favorite polls to conquer the metropolis, and invested by LREM, the baron of Lyon suffered a great disappointment on March 15. His lists were preceded by those of Bruno Bernard (EELV), François-Noël Buffet (LR) or David Kimelfeld (LREM dissident), his three main competitors in the 14 polling divisions.
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Mayor of Lyon from 2001 until his departure for the Ministry of the Interior, Gérard Collomb had recovered the keys to the town hall in 2018. But he had to resign himself to leaving his successor in the metropolis, David Kimelfeld, his re-election is not guaranteed.