"It's scandalous": Pierre Oliver accuses the City of running its campaign with Lyon's residents' money

Social media promotion, public meetings in the city's nine boroughs... Less than a year before the municipal elections, which will be held in March 2026, the green mayor's office has clearly launched its campaign. " Until May 25, we are coming to meet you throughout the city to answer all your questions and share together the progress made since 2020 ," says a video shared on the official Instagram account of the City of Lyon .

A video that has revolted the LR mayor of the 2nd arrondissement and candidate in the upcoming municipal elections, Pierre Oliver. " It's shameful to run the municipal campaign with taxpayers' money ," he declared, accusing the ecologist mayor of " promoting " herself. " This is anything but institutional communication ," he laments to Lyon Capitale .

" In reality, there's more to it than just this video: there will be nine meetings organized, we have to take into account the cost of invitations, organization, and during the last municipal elections, young people were even paid to come and ask questions ," he explained. But that's not all: the elected official mentions stands all over the city with people paid to run them, " this morning in Confluence, last week in Place Carnot ," two magazines and nine special issues... All for a budget of 400,000 to 700,000 euros " at the taxpayer's expense ."

Read also: Municipal elections in Lyon: Pierre Oliver puts up resistance

While the elected official voluntarily gave a range based on the cost of the mid-term review and what the 2020 municipal campaign cost the ecologists, he points out that the ceiling in force for a campaign budget is 500,000 euros. "With these estimates, the Ecologists are going to exceed them, it's scandalous . We can see that not everyone is starting on an equal footing ."

A practice deemed " surprising " by the elected official, who also claims to have never seen it in any other town hall in France.

And the people of Lyon also seem divided by the initiative. While some applaud the video, others call it propaganda. " How much did the PR campaign cost? Incidentally, at the expense of the people of Lyon? ", " Where does the money come from to finance all this? ", " How's the propaganda going? Do you think the people of Lyon are that naive? ", can be read, among other things, under the City's Instagram post.