Overview

• A formal opinion from the ethics council found no legal bar to combining the mayoralty with the FFF vice‑presidency but ordered Aulas to avoid referencing his federation post in campaign materials and to recuse from FFF matters touching Lyon, Olympique Lyonnais or other local clubs.
• Tensions flared at the municipal council as Green officials chastised a pre‑debate address backing Aulas as improper campaigning and cautioned that misuse of municipal forums can jeopardize campaign accounts.
• Aulas’s lawyers sent cease‑and‑desist letters to Métropole president Bruno Bernard and senator Thomas Dossus after accusations that his pre‑campaign polling was funded by his holding company Holnest in possible breach of electoral law.
• His camp says he personally paid for polls conducted by Cluster 17 and Toluna Harris Interactive and labels the corporate‑funding allegations defamatory, citing personal bank records.
• Aulas unveiled his Cœur lyonnais banner with support from LR figures and national backers including Laurent Wauquiez and Gabriel Attal, and he opened his campaign with a first rally at H7 in the Confluence district.