Lyon. Petitions, demonstrations… Angry residents put pressure on elected environmentalists

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“Welcome to Oullins Byrinthe”, “This metropolis is crazy”, “No to the removal of parking spaces”, “No to the closure of Chemin Neuf”, “No to the Oullins ring road”, “Hands off Saint -Just »… Monday September 30, 2024, the protest went up a notch in the face of the redevelopment projects of the elected environmentalists of the Metropolis of Lyon.

For the first time, they demonstrated, adding further pressure in view of the next elections.

Several hundred people gathered in front of the metropolitan headquarters – between 300 and 500 depending on the sources – to denounce several projects, certain Voies Lyonnaises and cycle paths, the redevelopment of the Peninsula or even the elimination of parking spaces. More generally, it is the global vision of Bruno Bernard and his teams which is attacked by these residents.

After the petitions, a demonstration

The serial petitions were clearly not enough. In recent months, collectives of all kinds (Commercants Rue Grenette, J’aime Montchat, Bien Vivre à Neuville, Lyon enanger, etc.) have multiplied a series of actions, including petitions that are sometimes very popular.

There is no shortage of points of contention: multiplication of tags in the city, against certain Voies Lyonnaises in Oullins, in the Essarts district in Bron, the one-way passage of Avenue Rockefeller, Voie Lyonnaise 4 in Limonest, future tram in the west of Lyon, the redevelopment of avenue des Frères Lumières…

But digital mobilizations do not work, according to a right-wing mayor of the metropolis, despite the success of the one entitled “Stop the closure of Lyon and Greater Lyon” signed more than 50,000 times.

Opposition mayors in support

“The residents’ collectives do not see any change in the Greens’ policy, they now want to be more visible, to put pressure,” he confides, not unhappy with this type of demonstration in the run-up to the 2026 elections.

The opposition mayors made no mistake and immediately greeted the demonstrators on Monday. Philippe Cochet and Gilles Gascon (LR) were applauded. “I am against the VL4 which will cross Limonest, the elected environmentalists are dogmatic and want to pass the buses with the cars through my town”, confides the mayor of western Lyon Max Vincent who supports the demonstrators.

Faced with the inability of elected officials from the Metropolis of Lyon to listen to residents regarding all the development projects currently being deployed, the Collective of Defenders of Lyon and Greater Lyon is calling for the general mobilization of Lyonnais and Greater Lyonnais.

“The debate cannot be based on caricatures”

On the side of the Greater Lyon executive, we do not want to let the sole noise of the demonstrators occupy all the space. Bruno Bernard denounces: “A collective of residents asks us not to do… what we do not plan to do. They are asking us to stop the “complete pedestrianization” of the Lyon Peninsula, which has never been on the agenda,” replies the president of the Metropolis.

“They are asking us to stop the total ban on vehicles on the Lyon Peninsula which has never been on the agenda either […] I also note a request for an immediate cessation of work. This is an insane request. We have launched work to modernize our public transport, our public buildings, sidewalks, cycle paths, green parks, etc. A program for which we were elected in 2020 […]», he gets annoyed. “The debate cannot be based on caricatures.”

Emeline Baume, vice-president in charge of the economy, was also sent to the front on Monday. “We have the right to express our feelings, our concerns, we are in a democracy,” she says. But, there were “consultations” and “listening to citizens”. As for Laurence Boffet, responsible for citizen participation, she says she regrets “the refusal” of the collective to be received as part of the consultation open until October 10 about the future limited traffic zone of the Presqu’île …

Tensions between the two parties are likely to increase in the coming months. New actions are being considered as the municipal and metropolitan elections approach…

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