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In September 2023, Jean-Michel Aulas had “taken the place of the mayor of Lyon” for an evening, for the vows of aldermen. A year and a half later, the former boss of Olympique Lyonnais is seriously planning to take her for good, at least for six years. In mid-February, he said he was thinking of presenting himself in the next municipal elections. And his messages on X leave little room for doubt. “Gradually a CAP and a path are taking shape,” he wrote on April 1, saying that he wanted to “return his honor, his energy, the pride and the pleasure of living in Lyon”.
In his entourage, we are convinced that he does not do that for the symbol. “Will have to confirm it soon, otherwise he will disappoint lots of people. He can no longer backtrack, ”blows one of them at 20 Minutes. Because the idea was not born yesterday. “It's been in his head for a while. He thinks a lot because he never does things halfway. This is what will make him a super mayor of Lyon. If it goes, he will give himself thoroughly, like all the projects he has undertaken. »»
“He fills all the boxes to be a great mayor”
But then, why now? “It is her disappointment to see the city in the state in which she is,” continues one of her friends. He is in love with it and he tells himself that he cannot leave her like that. At the age of 76, the ex-emblematic OL leader no longer has the club to manage, nor the Cegid software company. “As long as he had OL, it was impossible, it took him 150 % of his time,” recalls this same close. And his commitment to women's football? “The strength of Jean-Michel is that he always knows how to surround himself well, he knows how to delegate. I know that he will be able to manage his schedule, ”replies this same source directly.
“He fills all the boxes to be a super mayor of Lyon, insists the latter. Because a mayor is like a business manager: when you have someone brilliant, it moves forward. And Jean-Michel Aulas has this passion in him. »»
For the entrepreneur Béatrice de Montille too, the businessman can “completely become the next mayor of Lyon”. She even believes that this “would be a chance for the city”. “He is the very embodiment of the pride of being Lyon,” said this unofficial candidate. She particularly appreciates her method, which she also applies: “He tries to bring together before being a candidate. And we speak the same language, between entrepreneurs and enthusiasts of Lyon. For her, the fact that he comes from civil society is a plus. And quote an Ifop survey pour Lyon capital According to which 71 % of the Lyonnais questioned wish a candidate not from parties.
“It's the only one that can win today”
For his part, Laurence FOURD, mayor LR of Décines, salutes “a great gentleman” who has “completely the capacity to direct Lyon”. “I was dealing with him, especially with the stadium, so I know that when he wants something, he fights to get it. He's tenacious, ”she says. Before adding: “In view of his career, his record, he has nothing to prove. »»
She too finds that Lyon “needs” such a “troop lead”. “We lost so much in radiation. But he cannot go there on his own. You have to deal with those who worked throughout the mandate, it is only like that it can work, “she insists, recalling her support for Pierre Oliver, mayor of the 2nd arrondissement, officially candidate LR.
The AULA option already appeals to the right, especially on the side of the Republicans and Renaissance, whose support he received. François-Noël Buffet, Minister to the Minister of the Interior, even qualified it of “natural candidate”.
“He has no project, he has only money”
No longer throw it? No, because Jean-Michel Aulas' businessman's profile is not unanimous. And for the ecologist Etienne Tête, he took advantage of the “abyssal emptiness of the right”. “In politics, when it is empty, we are looking for notorores. He entered this niche, ”he explains. Before analyzing: “Admittedly, he can bring together the whole family of the right around him, but that does not mean that he will convince people on the left and environmentalists. He has no party, no project, he has only money. »»
According to this former elected official, citizens, “When they vote political, they look at politics. And it's a bit reassuring. People need to vote for an idea. If it is, he will have ideas but for the moment, the only one he has, that is to say that traffic is not possible. »»
He continues: “Jean-Michel Aulas has already taken advantage of the taxpayer with 200 million public money to make his stadium. I do not see what he is going to do in this galley, he must be bored. What he wants is the image. But he underestimates that she will be quickly delegitimized when he is in the campaign. The attacks will rain. »»
“We do not direct a town hall like a football club”
So politics, not a business like any other? “We do not direct a town hall as chairman of a board of directors or a football club,” said an observer in Lyon political life. An idea shared by Roland Bernardex-elected of the former mayor Gérard Collomb, who ensures that “the mixture of genres is not a good thing. »»
Another source points out that he “does not know the codes of the political world”. “I think it is planted because it is not made for that,” she says. She evokes a bulky liabilities for the businessman: “He assigned a media in justice after revelations on offshore societies. In politics, everything must be transparent. It could make it go back. »»
Placed very high in voting intentions
However, this same source takes the candidacy of Jean-Michel Aulas very seriously. “He had already announced it in the 2000s, under a joke. But he had never gone so far. There, it's no longer it, it's been four weeks since it lasts. And the repeated tweets against the mayor of Lyon are a reality. He's going to go there because he wants to feed his ego. »»
For the time being, Jean-Michel Aulas advance masked. He consults, tests, probe. In the last survey he commissioned, he arrives at 17 % of voting intention, behind the current mayor. According to BFMif the left is not united, Jean-Michel Aulas would obtain 24 % of the votes and would be positioned in front of Grégory Doucet (22 %).
Our file on Jean-Michel Aulas
The ex-boss of OL knows he is expected. He also knows that it will be necessary to “rake wide”. “No party can win alone. Jean-Michel is the only one who can unite win today, ”sums up a local strategist. According to him, only two hypotheses are possible: “Either Grégory Doucet has ten candidates in front of him and he returns, or he has only Jean-Michel Aulas and he does not pass. »Answers in less than a year.
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