2026 Municipal Elections: Aulas, candidate in "a few days", seals an alliance with Pierre Oliver

Behind the scenes for several months, the idea of ​​an alliance had been validated. The only thing left to do was to figure out how to announce it, as the interested parties' loved ones wanted to do " something that had some substance ."

Everyone will judge the form. On the substance, Pierre Oliver, mayor of the 2nd arrondissement of Lyon for the Republicans, and Jean-Michel Aulas, former president of Lyon and future candidate for the 2026 municipal elections in Lyon, sealed an agreement this Thursday ahead of the local elections. All this, under the watchful eye of Laurent Wauquiez.

" I am convinced that Jean-Michel Aulas can lead the fight to put Lyon back on the right track. He unites people from civil society. I spoke with Pierre and we decided to give him our support ," said the former president of the region.

The staging was polished, while the political and media worlds of Lyon had been buzzing for several hours, waiting for a turning point in the municipal election campaign. The press was invited to a city center bar at 2 p.m., while Jean-Michel Aulas (still not officially a candidate) and Pierre Oliver had already been seated there for a few minutes, sharing a coffee.

The former OL president indicated that he would continue to " ensure that the union is as broad as possible because it is the condition for our success ." He added: " Soon I will declare projects. We are in the starting blocks. To do this, we need a real union. " Jean-Michel Aulas has not yet made his candidacy official, even if he assures: " I will embark on the adventure in a few days. "

" I want to salute Jean-Michel's approach, which has created a huge momentum ," declared Pierre Oliver, speaking flatteringly of the former OL president: " He is very attached to Lyon. I am very happy that we can join forces. We have a shared vision of Lyon. "

A few hours earlier, Laurent Wauquiez had already said on RMC: " I love Jean-Michel Aulas. " Fabrice Pannekoucke, current president of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, had assured in an interview given to local media a few hours earlier: " I don't want Grégory Doucet anymore ."