Emergency plan, free parking hour... Sarselli's ideas for commerce in Lyon

Véronique Sarselli continues her groundwork. The mayor of Sainte-Foy-Lès-Lyon, Les Républicains candidate for the 2026 metropolitan elections, invited the press this Wednesday to present the first lessons learned from the workshop she led a few hours earlier on commerce and crafts.

Accompanied by the mayor of Oullins-Pierre-Bénite, Jérôme Moroge, Véronique Sarselli shared some draft campaign proposals, submitted to the panel of shopkeepers and artisans gathered*. As always, she asserted that everyone was unanimous on one point: " There's a problem with the approach. " She added, " Not a single participant failed to use the word 'brutality ,'" she observed. She cited as proof " the number of groups that have sprung up across the entire metropolitan area ." " We've never seen anything like it ," Véronique Sarselli emphasized.

Read also: Véronique Sarselli unveils her team of negotiators for the 2026 metropolitan elections

So the mayor of Sainte-Foy tested her options: implementing an emergency plan for businesses whose revenue has been affected by construction projects, and creating a "construction adjustment fund" to compensate businesses when major works are delayed. " In a complicated economic climate, the local authority must not worsen the situation. We must be careful about the public policies we implement ," says Véronique Sarselli.

Like Jérôme Moroge did in Oullins-Pierre-Bénite (amid jeers from the left), Véronique Sarselli is considering free parking in the city center for the first hour. " Why not a second hour at 50% off ?" she adds. " The goal is to encourage people to shop in our city center businesses ," says Jérôme Moroge, who asserts that Oullins shopkeepers have seen an increase in their sales of around 20% with this measure.

As she has already announced, Véronique Sarselli also wants to abolish the Limited Traffic Zone (ZTL) as it was implemented. " Our businesses cannot operate with a local market; they need outside support ," she argues. This announcement was not followed by Jean-Michel Aulas and his supporters. A few hours after the press release promising to " get rid of the ZTL ," Loïc Terrenes, in a message reposted by the former president of Olympique Lyonnais, stated : " Mobility in Lyon deserves better than binary choices. " " I don't know what it means to have not been followed. I'm not going to comment on the interpretations you might make of everyone's reactions ," replied Véronique Sarselli.

And he added: " I heard Jean-Michel Aulas say that the ZTL (Limited Traffic Zone) was problematic ." True, but Aulas also indicated that it " can be a useful tool if well-designed ." A point also noted by Rémi Zinck, the Green mayor of Lyon's 4th arrondissement. The mayor of Sainte-Foy-lès-Lyon offers a proposal for " intelligent pedestrianization ," based on a ban on cars that is " neither comprehensive nor general ." It would have been surprising if a candidate had proposed " foolish pedestrianization ." Thus, uncertainty persists regarding the ZTL, just as it does regarding buses.

The mayor of Sainte-Foy-lès-Lyon has confirmed her intention to reopen Rue Grenette to cars and Rue de la République Nord to public transportation. On this point, she is aligned with Jean-Michel Aulas. Véronique Sarselli, however, is less categorical about her proposal to make bus lanes accessible to cars outside of peak hours and on weekends. The candidate, who during this exchange deemed alternatives to cars "not credible, not optimized, not optimal ," declined to comment further on this proposal. A follow-up meeting is scheduled for November 13th, the date of the workshop's presentation on mobility.

Read also: ZTL removed, bus lanes opened to cars... Sarselli's "shocking" announcements for the Lyon metropolitan area

^{Twelve shopkeepers, artisans, and town centre managers met Wednesday morning to discuss the proposals presented by Véronique Sarselli and Jérôme Moroge. "Not necessarily struggling shopkeepers," the candidate assured.}