Until now considered a rising figure of the regional right, promoter of social and ecological issues, has Sébastien Michel, mayor (Les Républicains, LR) of Ecully, suddenly changed course? The elected official is firmly opposed to the creation of a home for recently arrived young immigrants, planned by the metropolis of Lyon on the territory of its wealthy commune, in the west of the Lyon region.
“The issue of emergency accommodation is (…) of infinite complexity »the councilor wrote in a letter to his constituents on October 2, explaining that he wanted “prevent this project from coming to fruition”. Before adding: “You can count on me not to give up and to continue, every day, defending Ecully’s identity and doing everything I can to protect them. » The terms surprised Bruno Bernard, president (Les Ecologistes) of the metropolis of Lyon. “Talking about identity and raising the idea of danger becomes problematic, it is blowing away the embers”the latter reacts.
The chosen location is a former engineering school, acquired in 2021 by the metropolis to convert it into a hostel with seventy beds, which has already been used to accommodate Ukrainian refugees, about whom the city council had not complained. Following the departure of the latter, the metropolis wishes to use these premises to guarantee the evaluation of the minority of newcomers, mainly from sub-Saharan Africa. This evaluation period lasts five to ten days, at the end of which a decision is made.
Or the young migrant is declared a minor and is cared for by the community as part of the assistance to unaccompanied minors, which represents a third of the cases. Or he is considered of legal age and returns to be under the jurisdiction of the State, due to a request for asylum or due to a denial of access to the territory. This social mission, entrusted to departments or metropolises, has literally exploded in Lyon, increasing, in three years, from 1,200 to 3,000 cases of evaluation of newcomers. The three existing homes are saturated and the hotel bill necessary to accommodate them has increased to 6 million euros in 2023.
“Great brutality”
“The Ecully site allows us to save millions of euros and carry out our mission in correct conditions”summarizes Bruno Bernard. The president of the metropolis criticizes the mayor for having rejected a previous project and for having deliberately allowed the execution of this structure to be prolonged. “I would be curious to know what he would do if he presided over the metropolis. Would it go beyond the legal framework? »questions the elected environmentalist: Sébastien Michel has just positioned himself in the primaries of the right-wing candidates for the next metropolitan elections, scheduled for 2026. The mayor of Ecully claims to have been warned during the summer, when the project had already been ratified. “As always, the metropolis imposes its vision without consulting the mayors. It is extremely brutal, without any possible discussion, we cannot negotiate anything. Municipalities become adjustment variables »declares World Sébastien Michel.
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