Extension of the Interpol headquarters: "The future in Lyon is secure" (Jürgen Stock)

The State, the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Region, the Metropolis and the City of Lyon have finally come to an agreement on the financing of this real estate project under discussion since 2015 for an initial cost of 50 million euros, confirmed to AFP a source at the Metropolis of Lyon without specifying the final envelope of the site.

A joint announcement, with the State in particular, with details of the contribution of each part of the project must be made in this regard later.

"I'm not going to announce precise figures yet because we want to do it with the government," added the secretary general of Interpol, who was speaking during a media forum organized as part of the organization's centenary.

No date and no final amount have been specified at this stage – the Ministry of the Interior having not responded to requests from AFP on this point at the end of the day.

In addition, the agreement which appears in the last Plan-State-Region Contract (CPER) "voted last October at the Region" must still be submitted for deliberation to the Metropolis "by December" next, according to the same source.

“For the Metropolis, it is 9 million euros for the construction of the extension and for the City of Lyon, it is the land” which will be used for this work, specified this source.

The region for its part confirmed to AFP its participation up to 9 million euros. For its part, the City of Lyon did not wish to comment on this file which had given rise to lively discussions between the Ministry of the Interior and local authorities.

The international organization, which currently has 195 member countries and approximately 800 employees in Lyon, has occupied land since 1989 made available by the City for its headquarters.

In October 2021, while Interpol was urging the French authorities to find a solution to respond to the development of its activities and its workforce, the Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin had asked local authorities to commit to funding. A long debate followed, the mayor of Lyon, the president of the Metropolis and the president of the Region asking for more clarity on the financial arrangement.