“The metropolis of Lyon, in its method, is completely wrong! », Judge Laurent Wauquiez, head of the Les Républicains deputies, in an interview with Progress. The special regional advisor – since he left the presidency of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes – accused Thursday the environmentalist president of the metropolis of Lyon, Bruno Bernard, of “contemptuous” the elected officials regarding the creation of a center for young migrants.
The metropolis has chosen to install a center for 70 unaccompanied migrant minors (UMAs) in Écully until 2026, in premises where Ukrainian refugees have already stayed. The mayor (LR) of the city, Sébastien Michel, is opposed to it. “There is no consultation with mayors, while elected officials, whatever their political opinions, must be respected. It’s called democracy,” he adds.
Wauquiez “is supposed to be republican”, according to Bernard
“The president of the metropolis must regain a little calm and composure to respect our territory. We are reaching out to him to ask him to correct the situation,” he continues, estimating that “the trend is not to open new centers but to better control our immigration”.
Bruno Bernard responds that on a subject “as difficult as the departmental obligation to welcome and evaluate unaccompanied minors”, Laurent Wauquiez “is supposed to be a Republican and he blames us […] to apply the law intelligently. The president of the metropolis explains the choice of Ecully because it is a center “which belongs to us, where costs are reduced, rather than leaving these young people, supposedly minors, in the hotel, with significant costs for us”.
Bruno Bernard “available” to discuss with the government
The delay of “three months in the installation” of the center represents “already 500,000 euros of lost public money”, he says. “While the State, the government and the friends of Laurent Wauquiez are asking us to make savings, they are forcing us to make additional expenses,” he adds.
“On these complicated subjects, I am available to discuss with the current government and its new spokesperson Laurent Wauquiez to find solutions in the reception of these migrants,” quips the president of the metropolis of Lyon.
“There is no taboo subject on immigration, we can talk about anything, but we must do it seriously, without invective, and to find the general interest,” he concludes.
