Rhône senatorial elections face division over dissident list

Political tensions are rising in the Rhône department ahead of the senatorial elections following the decision by Bruno Bernard, former president of the Lyon Metropolis, to run a dissident list. Bernard, who is accompanied by several former vice-presidents, argues that many left-wing and ecological electors refuse to support lists that include candidates perceived as having hindered left-wing unity in previous elections. This move has drawn sharp criticism from Thomas Dossus, the official Ecologist candidate, who warned that such division could hand seats to political opponents.

In response to Bernard's candidacy, the Ecologist party has imposed a temporary exclusion on him and all members of his dissident list, a sanction expected to extend to a three-year withdrawal.

Simultaneously, Gabriel Amard of La France insoumise (LFI) has called on left-wing electors to support his own list, backed by LFI and Génération·s. Amard criticized the Ecologists for “dynamiting” their national agreement with the Socialist Party. While Amard noted that he cannot mathematically be elected senator for the Rhône, he is positioning his candidacy as a way to prevent the left from being eliminated from the Senate due to internal fragmentation.