Its EELV president, Bruno Bernard, supported the deliberation put to the vote on Tuesday but he would have been outvoted without the votes of the opposition, which very opportunely demanded a nominative ballot so that everyone knows who voted what.
The project, of which the green and left-wing majority elected in July in Greater Lyon inherited from the previous term, provides for the construction of a 15.000-seat hall on an industrial wasteland near the Groupama stadium, the venue where the Olympic is playing Lyonnais by Jean-Michel Aulas in Décines-Charpieu, in the east of the agglomeration.
With an estimated cost of 140 million euros, the arena should host 80 to 120 events per year: concerts, shows for young audiences and business seminars, as well as sports events, including Euroleague matches. Asvel, a club chaired by Tony Parker and of which OL is a shareholder.
This project requires modifying the Local Urban Planning and Housing Plan, which Tuesday's vote was to authorize.
Out of the 150 councilors of the assembly, 146 participated in the videoconference or were represented there, and 143 took part in the ballot: 104 voted for the deliberation, 12 against and 27 abstained.
Among the 58 elected members of the environmental group, of which 56 were present, 31 voted for, 20 abstained, 4 voted against and one did not take part in the vote, according to an internal source. That is to say 25 disallows in total.
Their 13 socialist partners voted for but among the 13 other elected members of the majority (PCF and LFI mainly), 8 voted against, four abstained and one did not take part in the vote.
Only 44 of the 84 elected members of the majority therefore voted for the deliberation, two-thirds of the favorable votes (60 out of 104) coming from the centrist and right-wing opposition, not unhappy with this political coup.
"Mr. Bernard, this report warms our hearts, we are delighted that you are in favor of OL Vallée (nickname for the area developed by Aulas, editor's note)", Gérard Collomb had fun recalling the opposition environmentalists, in the past, to the construction of the great stadium that supported him.
"No, Mr. Collomb, we do not have the same vision", retorted the interested party, assuring that this project did not correspond to the models defended by the ecologists and that it would ensure to improve it on the environmental plan and social.
"We do not want to block private projects but to work on their reorientation if necessary", added Vinciane Brunel Vieira (EELV) before voting in favor of the project.
In its deliberation, the community asks OL to promote carpooling for access to the arena, to reduce the carbon footprint of shows and to avoid their concomitance with football matches. Insufficient for the detractors of the project, in which they also see a threat to existing cultural places.
It remains to be seen whether the episode will leave traces in the majority and its governance. "It is not a sling but it is a warning, it woke up the group", judges an elected green.