Gérald Darmanin, here on February 15 in Annemasse (Haute-Savoie) for the inauguration of a police station.

Philippe DESMAZES -

AFP

  • The ecologist town hall of Lyon will set up, from Monday, a unique menu without meat, in the school canteens of the city.

  • This decision has been widely criticized in the opposition since Friday, but also by the Minister of the Interior Gérald Darmanin, who denounces a "scandalous ideology".

  • The mayor of Lyon Grégory Doucet responded to him this Sunday, to ensure that this measure was taken "for health reasons", as his predecessor Gérard Collomb had done last year.

“An unacceptable insult to French farmers and butchers.

"This is the clear-cut reading to say the least that the Minister of the Interior Gerald Darmanin makes of the" temporary "decision of the town hall of Lyon to launch a single menu without meat, in its school canteens, from this Monday.

This choice, much criticized by the opposition since Friday, is explained by the Covid-19 context according to elected environmentalists.

"The new health protocol imposes a two-meter distance in school catering," says Stéphanie Léger, assistant in charge of Education.

The unique menu will allow us to speed up the service and thus welcome all the children.

"It will not be vegetarian meals since they will regularly consist of" fish and eggs ", specifies the municipality, recalling that these dishes without meat would be" those which are suitable for the greatest number of children ".

Explanations which fail to convince Gérald Darmanin.

In addition to the unacceptable insult to French farmers and butchers, it is clear that the moralist and elitist policy of the "Greens" excludes the popular classes.

Many children often only have the canteen to eat meat ... Scandalous ideology.

https://t.co/gFGf0JWZKn

- Gérald DARMANIN (@GDarmanin) February 20, 2021

"We did not hear you say these words to Gérard Collomb"

On his Twitter account, he pointed out on Saturday “the moralist and elitist politics of the Greens”, as well as their “scandalous ideology” of removing meat from school canteens.

The mayor of Lyon Grégory Doucet replied to these strong criticisms this Sunday.

“This single menu measure is taken for health reasons,” says the elected ecologist.

We did not hear you make these comments to Gérard Collomb, a member of your political family, who had taken exactly the same measure during the first wave.

"

From May to July 2020, the city of Lyon, then led by Gérard Collomb, had indeed already opted for "a unique hot meal without meat" in the canteen, without this being followed by such controversy.

"It is by no means a final decision, since as soon as the sanitary situation allows it, we will reintroduce the menus with meat", insists the new municipality EELV.

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  • Lyon

  • Gregory Doucet

  • Society

  • Canteen

  • Gerald Darmanin

  • EELV

  • school