"I don't know what he's afraid of": Minister Aurore Bergé attacks Grégory Doucet during a visit to Lyon

" An act of election campaigning. " Tuesday afternoon, the entourage of Lyon's Green mayor, Grégory Doucet, was seething. A few hours earlier, he learned that the Minister for Gender Equality, Aurore Bergé, in the Rhône department for the launch of the Eurogames in Lyon, would be visiting shopkeepers in the 2nd arrondissement the next day... accompanied by the LR mayor and candidate for the 2026 municipal elections, Pierre Oliver.

Far from the issues she is responsible for in her ministry, the Renaissance representative visited several shopkeepers on Rue de la Charité, supervised by Stéphane Borne, president of the My Ainay Charité association. And while it's true that Lyon's shopkeepers are always quick to blame their declining turnover and various difficulties on environmental policies, Aurore Bergé didn't fail to bring them into this discussion, in a more or less subtle way.

It's hard not to see this (at least) as a helping hand to her longtime friend Pierre Oliver, who was all smiles and kept to herself during this brief visit. Others, like those close to Grégory Doucet, even see it as a more official campaign act. " I'm not here to announce anything for the municipal elections ," the minister tried to defuse the situation. She added: " I'm responding to the invitation of a mayor I know well; it's important to listen to the concerns of the French people. "

Asked about the reaction to her shopping trip to the City Hall, the minister said: " I don't understand (...) I don't know what he's afraid of other than listening to the shopkeepers (...) It's astonishing to try to stir up controversy because I'm responding to a mayor's invitation. If the mayor of Lyon is nervous, that's his problem. "

Pierre Oliver also did not fail to tackle a Grégory Doucet " very fragile because he arouses strong rejection in Lyon" . And to evoke a simple " visit of Aurore Bergé whom I have known for 15 years ". The minister continues this Wednesday, then this Thursday, a very political program with in particular a meeting with the Horizons mayor of Rillieux-la-Pape, Alexandre Vincendet, and an evening with the Lyonnes team, whose founder is a fierce opponent of the ecologists.