PODCAST: Full Episode of Good Morning Market for Tuesday, February 24

On Tuesday, February 24, 2026, a key televised debate took place with the participation of the four main candidates in the Lyon municipal elections. The debate, titled "Lyon le débat," was broadcast by the BFMTV channel in collaboration with BFM Lyon and the daily newspaper Le Figaro. The participants were: incumbent mayor Grégory Doucet, representing the coalition of Greens and the left; Jean-Michel Aulas, former president of Olympique Lyonnais, running on the list of the center-right Cœur Lyonnais; Anaïs Belouassa-Cherifi, MP and candidate of the far-left La France Insoumise (LFI); and Alexandre Dupalais, representing the coalition of the far-right National Rally (RN) and other right-wing parties under the banner Union des droites pour la République. The debate was moderated by journalists: Apolline de Malherbe (BFMTV), Elodie Poyade (BFM Lyon), and Yves Thréard (Le Figaro). Lyon, founded by the Romans as Lugdunum, has a rich history as an important commercial and intellectual center. It is traditionally considered a city with left-liberal sympathies, although in recent decades the right, including the National Front (now the National Rally), has been gaining increasing support there. Municipal elections in France are held every six years. The debate took place just under a month before the first round of voting, scheduled for March 15. According to a poll by the Elabe institute published on Monday, the clear favorite is Jean-Michel Aulas, who is projected to receive 43% of the vote in the first round. Nevertheless, the poll indicates a slight downward trend for this candidate. The far-left candidate, Anaïs Belouassa-Cherifi, had already signaled her main electoral strategy before the debate. She spoke unequivocally against Aulas. „„Ma priorité, c'est que Jean-Michel Aulas ne devienne pas le prochain maire”” — Anaïs Belouassa-Cherifi. She added that she was ready to "do everything in her power" to prevent this, including withdrawing in the second round in favor of the current mayor Grégory Doucet, to consolidate the left-wing vote. The current mayor, Grégory Doucet, during the debate emphasized his humanistic approach to politics, stating that this was and will be his "compass." The debate was the first opportunity for Aulas, although experienced in media relations as a sports manager, to face direct political confrontation on such a stage. As reported by Le Parisien, the former OL president "prepared seriously for this exercise."