Metropolitan Council of Lyon

The Metropolitan Council of Lyon is the deliberative assembly of the Metropolis of Lyon, a French territorial collectivity with special status. It governs the metropolitan territory surrounding and including the city of Lyon through a council of 150 metropolitan councillors. Unlike an ordinary municipal council, it operates at the metropolitan level and combines responsibilities normally associated with both a department and an intermunicipal metropolitan authority. The council was established on 1 January 2015, when the Metropolis of Lyon replaced the former Urban Community of Lyon within the same territory and assumed the departmental responsibilities previously exercised by the Rhône department in that area. This institutional arrangement created a single metropolitan authority with a broader field of competence than the former urban community. The council therefore serves as the representative and deliberative body for a jurisdiction that is both metropolitan and departmental in its powers. The council's headquarters remain at 20 Rue du Lac in Lyon's 3rd arrondissement, in the Part-Dieu district. The building had previously housed the Urban Community of Lyon and continued to serve as the administrative seat of the metropolitan authority after the 2015 institutional change. The assembly originally had a planned composition of 166 councillors under the relevant ministerial ordinance, but the final structure adopted through parliamentary review established 150 seats. Since the 2020 municipal and metropolitan elections, councillors have been elected directly by universal suffrage at the same time as municipal councillors. The election is organized across 14 electoral constituencies, using the voting system applicable to municipalities with more than 1,000 inhabitants. This system gives the council a direct electoral mandate rather than relying solely on indirect representation by municipal delegates. The council is led by a president and an executive comprising the president and 23 vice presidents. Bruno Bernard, associated with Europe Ecology – The Greens, was elected president after the metropolitan council elected in June 2020. According to the referenced material, Véronique Sarselli of The Republicans became president in 2026. The transition reflects the political character of the council as an elected metropolitan institution, while the council's continuing responsibilities remain tied to the governance of the Metropolis of Lyon. The Metropolitan Council of Lyon is not a commercial brand or a product company. Its public role is institutional: representing metropolitan voters, deliberating on policy, and exercising the combined powers assigned to the Metropolis of Lyon. Its principal scope is therefore the territory of the metropolis and its residents, rather than an international consumer or business market.

The Metropolitan Council of Lyon was created as part of a major reorganization of local government in the Lyon area. On 1 January 2015, the Metropolis of Lyon replaced the former Urban Community of Lyon within its territory. At the same time, the new metropolitan collectivity assumed the Rhône department's responsibilities in that territory. The change established a distinctive French territorial institution with a combined metropolitan and departmental role. The council is the deliberative assembly of this collectivity. Its responsibilities are therefore broader than those of a body concerned only with urban cooperation or municipal coordination. The institutional model places metropolitan functions and departmental functions within a single authority, with the council providing democratic deliberation and political oversight for the resulting jurisdiction. The headquarters of the Metropolis of Lyon and its council remained at 20 Rue du Lac in Lyon's 3rd arrondissement, in the Part-Dieu district. This was the headquarters of the former Urban Community of Lyon, making the site a point of administrative continuity during the transition to the metropolitan structure. The council's composition was also defined during the creation of the new institution. A ministerial ordinance initially contemplated an assembly of 166 councillors, but parliamentary review resulted in a final council of 150 members. This 150-member structure is the basis of the present assembly described in the reference material. A further change occurred with the 2020 elections. Since then, metropolitan councillors have been elected directly by universal suffrage at the same time as municipal councillors. The electoral system divides the metropolitan territory into 14 constituencies and applies the voting method used for municipalities with more than 1,000 inhabitants. This replaced a more indirect model of metropolitan representation and gave the council a direct electoral relationship with residents. The council elected a new president after the election held on 28 June 2020. Bruno Bernard, associated with Europe Ecology – The Greens, became president, leading an executive composed of the president and 23 vice presidents. The referenced material records a subsequent change in 2026, when Véronique Sarselli of The Republicans became president. The Metropolitan Council of Lyon remains an active public institution rather than a commercial enterprise. Its continuing identity is tied to the Metropolis of Lyon, its elected assembly, its headquarters in Part-Dieu, and its combined metropolitan and departmental responsibilities. Its institutional history is consequently defined by territorial reorganization, the move to direct metropolitan elections, and changes in the political leadership elected by the council.

• 2026

  Véronique Sarselli identified as president

  [1]Metropolitan Council of Lyonen.wikipedia.org

  The referenced account identifies Véronique Sarselli of The Republicans as the council's president from 2026.

• 2020

  Direct metropolitan elections introduced

  [1]Metropolitan Council of Lyonen.wikipedia.org

  Beginning with the 2020 election cycle, metropolitan councillors were elected directly by universal suffrage alongside municipal councillors in 14 electoral constituencies.

• 2020

  Bruno Bernard elected president

  [1]Metropolitan Council of Lyonen.wikipedia.org

  After the 28 June metropolitan election, the council elected Bruno Bernard as president.

• 2015

  Metropolis of Lyon established

  [1]Metropolitan Council of Lyonen.wikipedia.org

  On 1 January, the Metropolis of Lyon replaced the former Urban Community of Lyon and assumed the Rhône department's responsibilities within the metropolitan territory, creating the institutional framework for the Metropolitan Council.

• 2015

  Council composition set at 150 members

  [1]Metropolitan Council of Lyonen.wikipedia.org

  The final institutional arrangement established a 150-member metropolitan council, after a plan for 166 councillors was revised through parliamentary review.

An elected metropolitan institution combining the representative and deliberative functions of a metropolitan authority with responsibilities formerly associated with the Rhône department.

• 2020

  Adoption of direct metropolitan electionsOther

  Background

  The metropolitan electoral framework was changed so that councillors would be chosen directly by voters rather than solely through an indirect municipal representation model.

  Action taken

  From 2020, councillors were elected by direct universal suffrage alongside municipal councillors across 14 constituencies.

  Aftermath

  The council received a direct electoral mandate from residents of the Metropolis of Lyon.

  Source

• 2015

  Creation of the Metropolis of LyonStrategy

  Background

  The former Urban Community of Lyon was replaced by a territorial collectivity with special status that also took over the Rhône department's responsibilities within the same territory.

  Action taken

  The new metropolitan institution was established on 1 January 2015, with the Metropolitan Council serving as its deliberative assembly.

  Aftermath

  The Lyon metropolitan area gained a single authority combining metropolitan and departmental competencies.

  Source

1. 1Metropolitan Council of Lyonen.wikipedia.org