Right-wing candidate for Lyon mayor, Jean-Michel Aulas, lost his defamation lawsuit against Rue89Lyon journalists on Tuesday, January 20. The court ruled their investigation into his family holding's investment was not defamatory. This ruling comes amid increasing judicialization of the 2026 municipal election campaign.
Jean-Michel Aulas, businessman and right-wing candidate for Lyon mayor in the 2026 municipal elections, suffered a judicial setback on January 20. He had sued two Rue89Lyon journalists for defamation over an article published in October 2023. Titled “Les Aulas s’envolent en jet privé dans les paradis fiscaux,” the piece revealed a one-million-euro investment by his family holding, Holnest, in a luxury private jet airport in Florida.
The investigation drew on OpenLux documents disclosed by Le Monde in February 2021, detailing a complex financial setup involving an offshore company in Delaware, a U.S. state known for its favorable tax regime. Judges in the 6th press chamber of Lyon's correctional tribunal ruled that the article's statements “do not contain defamatory allegations.” The journalists were cleared, and Aulas ordered to reimburse Rue89Lyon's 3,369 euros in legal fees. The request for sanctions over an abusive procedure was dismissed.
This decision unfolds against a backdrop of escalating legal disputes in the Lyon campaign. Outgoing mayor Grégory Doucet has also filed a defamation suit against a magazine. Aulas, prominent in business including his role at Olympique Lyonnais, aims to succeed the ecologist Doucet in the March 2026 vote.
