Lyon (AFP)
President Emmanuel Macron will meet successively in Lyon the mayor Gerard Collomb and the president of the metropolis David Kimelfeld for the municipal elections of March 2020, said Sunday the Elysee.
Taking advantage of her trip to Lyon for the final of the Women's World Cup, the president has dinner Sunday night with his former Minister of the Interior, then have breakfast Monday morning with the dolphin of Mr. Collomb become his rival to the metropolis, David Kimelfeld.
If the side town hall dinner Sunday evening was not confirmed, a source told the city told AFP that the president would meet Mr. Kimelfeld at the prefecture Monday at 9:45.
Since he left the government with a crash this fall to become mayor of Lyon, Mr. Collomb is caught up in a succession dispute with Mr. Kimelfeld, who replaced him at home when he left in 2017.
In view of the upcoming municipal elections, the mayor does not hide his desire to run for the metropolis rather than the Lyon city hall, since it will no longer be possible to combine the two positions, but Mr. Kimelfeld is determined not to give up his position, which concentrates more powers.
Mr. Collomb announced at the end of June at the microphone of the "Grand Rendez-vous" Europe 1 that he would have "a direct discussion" with the head of state about the investiture LREM for municipal.
According to Gérard Collomb, Emmanuel Macron will ultimately choose for all major cities and for Lyon.
In an interview with Cnews this week, Kimelfeld said he asked the president to be received with Gerard Collomb "to discuss" the LREM nomination.
In mid-June, the Republic in progress has put in the saddle its first 19 candidates in the municipal elections, but carefully avoided to advance on the thorny cases of Paris, Lyon or Nice.
"There will be a committee (of investiture), but I know a little the president, it's not someone totally foreign to the problems of constituencies, cities, power relations," said Mr. Collomb end of June.
? 2019 AFP