Overview
- The metropolitan council, which voted Thursday, elected Les Républicains’ Véronique Sarselli president with 91 of 150 ballots after the Grand Cœur Lyonnais bloc secured 92 of 150 seats.
- Sarselli pledged to work with Mayor Grégory Doucet but said she will end the planned west Lyon tram and restart the long-discussed Metro E line serving the western suburbs.
- Jean‑Michel Aulas became first vice‑president and said he will launch immediate audits of the Metropolis and the Sytral transport authority to gauge finances and operations.
- Aulas has also filed a legal challenge to the Lyon mayoral result, contesting the second‑round tally that returned Doucet to office.
- Under France’s ban on holding multiple executive posts, Sarselli must give up her Sainte‑Foy‑lès‑Lyon mayoralty, a change that matters because the Metropolis controls transport, urban planning, housing and social services for 1.4 million residents.