Lyon suburb mayoral wins by LFI face possible annulment over ballot irregularities

A public rapporteur at the Lyon administrative court has advised annulling the municipal elections in the Lyon suburbs of Vaulx-en-Velin and Vénissieux, where La France Insoumise (LFI) candidates Abdelkader Lahmar and Idir Boumertit secured mayoral victories by margins of only a few dozen votes. The recommendation follows legal challenges alleging irregularities on the lists of rival candidates, notably a filing by centrist Pascal Dureau accusing Quentin Taïeb—identified by the prefecture as far-right—of fraudulent voter registrations.

Dureau argues the alleged fraud distorted first-round results that allowed four lists to advance, and his appeal could benefit incumbent PCF mayor Michèle Picard, who lost by 25 votes. In Vaulx-en-Velin, a separate centrist candidate contested the annulment of her ballots after the second round, claiming loss of council seats; over 700 ballots were declared null in that round. A similar complaint was lodged in neighboring Saint-Fons, where an outgoing DVG mayor was also defeated by an LFI contender. If the court upholds the annulments, new elections will be scheduled, a rare outcome in French municipal politics.