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Oullins and Pierre-Bénite, two towns in the south of the metropolis of Lyon, will merge.
As a symbol, the appointment was given this Tuesday morning in the wedding hall of the town hall of Oullins.
All smiles, Clotilde Pouzergue, the mayor of the town and Jérôme Moroge, his counterpart from Pierre-Bénite officially announced this union to come between their two cities.
“
A choice of reason for the general interest
”, hammered the two elected LRs.
“
History separated our two towns in 1869. Before that, they were one.
Today, we want to remarry them with the desire to weigh more strongly on the territory
, ”welcomed the mayor of Oullins.
Absent from the program of the two elected officials in 2020, this merger has been worked on the sly by the two city councilors for two years.
“
We met on the project for the future nautical center shared between our two cities.
From there, we said to ourselves: “why not continue to do great things together?
If it works for this centre, we can extend this work to safety, health and food.
We will be stronger together”
, assures the mayor of Pierre-Bénite.
The two elected officials hope to be able to make this union effective on January 1, 2024.
It will be Jérôme Moroge who will then take the reins of the new town now called Oullins-Pierre-Bénite.
Arranged marriage ?
Announced last night, in a hurry following the revelations of our colleagues from
Progress
, the news surprises in the metropolis of Lyon.
And the opposition is already talking about a forced marriage by interests other than those of the territories in question.
"
Sincerely, I do not see any objective reason for this merger, except to prevent Oullins from switching to ecologists in 2026
", criticized Benjamin Badouard, co-president of the EELV elected officials in the metropolis of Lyon.
In 2020, Clotilde Pouzergue had beaten the Green candidate Jean-Charles Kohlhaas by 148 votes.
“
When I read that yesterday, I thought it was an April Fool's joke
,” reacted the latter.
The current vice-president of Grand Lyon in charge of Travel asks that the proposal be submitted to a referendum of the inhabitants: “
No one has ever spoken about it.
This cannot be decided on a corner of the table between two elected officials.
The law on the merger of municipalities was designed to help the smallest to have more means.
This is neither the case of Pierre-Bénite nor of Oullins.
We are on a merger that is in the interest of the two mayors
.
Bruno Bernard, the president of the metropolis of Lyon, whose father, Roland, was mayor of Oullins from 1977 to 1990, said he was "
very surprised to learn of this major announcement from the press
".
"
To say that this merger is obvious without any serious argument is contemptuous of the inhabitants
," he added.
“
These attacks are not on topic.
We are talking about a long-term vision for the territory, not a basely political policy
, ”replied Jérôme Moroge to them.
And to throw a small spade at the president of Grand Lyon: “
Besides, Bruno Bernard told me last week that we needed more mergers of municipalities in our sector
”.
What the entourage of the president of the metropolis refutes: "
Yes, he spoke of the mergers of municipalities, but at no time was there any question of those of Oullins and Pierre-Bénite.
Moreover, in two hours of discussion, Jérôme Moroge never mentioned his project
”.
New city, for new dynamics
Beyond the political aspect, this merger would also have a financial interest for the two cities.
If no accounting projection has yet been made, the merger could in particular make it possible to facilitate the debt reduction of Oullins, whose management had been singled out in 2018 by the regional chamber of accounts and whose debt reduction capacity had exceeded 20 years at the time to return to 12 years today.
“
Yes, Oullins is more indebted, but the receipts are more dynamic there where the debt of Pierre-Bénite is lower, but the receipts too.
This merger will therefore create a great financial dynamic in the territory
,” pleaded Jérôme Moroge.
According to the latter, the merger will make it possible in particular to quickly offer a municipal night police force in the two municipalities, but also to allow Pierre-Bénite to benefit from the urban supervision center located in Oullins.
Regarding the possibility of a referendum among the population, neither of the two mayors seems willing to set up such a ballot.
“
The referendum is not our way of seeing things.
We will first explain the project and its advantages to our population and I am convinced that we will be able to convince
, ”concluded Clotilde Pouzergue.
