Sébastien Michel, mayor of Écully, displays his ambitions

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The mayor Les Républicains d’Écully, Sébastien Micheldoes not hide his ambitions. The presidency of the Metropolis of Lyon interests him. He could see himself in the place of Bruno Bernard, environmentalist and political adversary.

Controversy surrounding an accommodation center for unaccompanied minors, metro E project, creation of a tramway to Écully… The elected official from western Lyon answers questions fromnews Lyon this month of November 2024.

“We mayors are not Bruno Bernard’s doormats”

Actu : You oppose the accommodation center for unaccompanied minors in Écully while the work is underway. Explain to us why?

Sébastien Michel: This subject annoys me greatly in terms of form. We learned of the project through a work authorization declaration on July 22. Today, even though I still have not authorized this work, it is completed. This says a lot about the way in which the Metropolis behaves with town halls. From the start, this issue has been treated brutally with contempt and cynicism. We mayors are not doormats on which Bruno Bernard can wipe his feet.

You have many points of friction and disagreements with the Métropole de Lyon…

S.M. : We have between 15 and 20 subjects on which the Metropolis has completely wiped its feet on the mayor's position. We can cite the project to over-densify the Sources district, to block real estate projects on Chemin du Fort in the midst of a housing crisis… We have a dogmatic refusal to erect a high-rise building in the Sources district.

A tower project in Écully nipped in the bud

Did you want to take a tour of this district of Écully?

S.M. : I wanted to make an emblematic tower based on the model of what had been imagined in Créteil with the tree of life. A strong architectural gesture was needed to change the image of the neighborhood and attract another population to have social diversity. I asked to connect this area to the M6, this was also dismissed out of hand. We can't argue with them. We have the impression of having “bulldo-Greens” facing us.

Concerning traffic, do you consider that traffic jams are getting worse in the west of Lyon since the environmentalists came to power?

S.M. : Yes, this is the case in western Lyon and the entire metropolitan area. Monday January 4, I left Gerland as part of my professional activity to go to Caluire. With the work at Gerland done against common sense, it took me 1h25. Today, we have completely “embolized” the city.

Traffic jams, traffic, works… environmentalists “do anything”

So, are you for or against more cycle lanes in the metropolis? What do you think of the Lyon routes?

S.M. : Let's not take the easy route. The idea is not to say that we must continue to overdevelop road networks for cars, of course we must share space better. In Écully, I developed the practice of active modes without pitting the modes of transport against each other. We brag about having a drop in car traffic, but this translates into more traffic jams. These topics are not addressed correctly. We have the impression that they want to move so quickly to make things inevitable, that they do anything.

For you, the environmentalists are moving too quickly…

S.M. : Yes, they are going too fast and above all, they are making mistakes because they cannot imagine the traffic delays. They talk to you about “car evaporation”, it's the new fashionable concept. In reality, it's: “discourage people from taking their car, so they won't take it anymore.”

For you, this is the current goal of the Greens' policy: to disgust motorists?

S.M. : Yes and they say it. What worries me a lot, if we add to this the Low Emission Zone (ZFE), we will make Lyon and Villeurbanne a little preserved paradise where we can cycle, but a bunker into which we will no longer be able to enter. And we make everything else hell.

“I think we need to do the E metro”

Do you find that the west of Lyon is largely forgotten in the transport plan of the metropolis of Lyon, despite the express tramway from the west of Lyon (TEOL) to Tassin-la-Demi-Lune?

S.M. : I pushed for the E metro because it was a subject on which there was general consensus. There wasn't a person who thought it wasn't a good idea. The TEOL does not satisfy anyone, in reality. I think we need to do the E metro because it is good for a whole part of western Lyon.

Despite its cost which could be excessive?

S.M. : Yes, the metro is expensive, of course. Either we give ourselves the means to put in place the transport infrastructures which allow us to give up the car when we can, or we will do some DIY.

In Écully, I wanted us to put a tram on the C6 bus line. Today, I have a president of the Metropolis who opposes the territories. He told me: “If you don’t want to densify, I will give the tramway to the east.” I am being asked to create 2,350 additional housing units for a tramway. Écully has 8,000 homes. I am being asked for a 30% increase for a tram line that does not even serve the center of the town.

“The tram will be there sooner or later in Écully”

Do you consider that the public transport service in Écully is insufficient?

S.M. : For the first time in 50 years, the town of Écully will have seen its public transport service deteriorate during the current mandate. There are lines with fewer frequencies. We were promised another line which never saw the light of day. We were promised a high-level bus service or a tram on line C6, and we don't have one. We have a president of the Metropolis of absolute cynicism who practices blackmail and threats in his relationships with local elected officials. It is high time to put an end to this governance.

What would you do in Bruno Bernard’s place?

S.M. : The first thing to do is to gather. On transport issues, we need transparency and trust. With the current president, we have neither. Besides, I'm going to make a bet: the tramway to Écully will be built sooner or later. Sytral services consider that with the presence of the campus and our density, this justifies a tramway. The president of the Metropolis is not doing it for political reasons and I am sure that if he is re-elected in 2026, he will end up doing it.

The presidency of the Metropolis: “It interests me”

Are you a candidate for president of the Métropole de Lyon?

S.M. : Do I think about it? Yes, I've been saying it from the beginning. It's something that interests me, but I'm not the only one in my political family (The Republicans). We are aware that the Republicans and the entire central bloc have a responsibility. Everyone is convinced that we must have this alliance: a union of the center and the right, through Modem, Horizon, Renaissance, UDI, LR… and why not a part of the more moderate left. There are bridges to be found with Georges Képénékian (short-lived mayor of Lyon when Gérard Collomb was Minister of the Interior).

Ideally, you should have a candidate from the start of 2025 to carry a positive project without necessarily being criticized.

If elected, would you continue the Lyon route?

S.M. : You have to be honest with people. We are not going to destroy what has been created. On the other hand, we will look at where we can rebalance things. The cycling plan is 500 million euros which will allow us to go from 40,000 cyclist users to 87,000. This means that we will invest 500 million euros for 47,000 users in an area of ​​1.5 million inhabitants. I think it's excessive.

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