Jean-Michel Aulas has stepped back from leading his group on the Lyon city council after a rape complaint targeted a former member of his campaign.
Councilors from the Cœur Lyonnais group met on Friday. Jean-Michel Aulas and Laure Cédat proposed to withdraw from the leadership to preserve the collective’s unity, according to a statement.
Two elected officials nevertheless left the group. Pierre Oliver, LR mayor of the 2nd arrondissement, told AFP: “We can no longer sit with them” after a meeting described as “very tough”.
The complaint was filed in May by an activist from Jean-Michel Aulas’s campaign against Roman Abreu, former communications director. The alleged facts date from January in a hotel room. The communications director “firmly and serenely” contests the accusations, according to his lawyer.
