Elections annulled in Saint-Fons

The administrative court of Lyon canceled the municipal elections in Saint-Fons, which took place on March 15 and 22 of last year, on Monday, October 12. The court found that the outgoing mayor's list, "Saint-Fons la citoyenne," had violated election rules by not disclosing the Portuguese nationality of one of its candidates, a requirement for candidates from other European Union countries.

Invalid votes affect election outcome

As a result of the irregularity, 709 of the 901 ballots collected by the mayor's list in the first round were declared invalid, and 192 were counted incorrectly. The outgoing mayor, Christian Duchêne, whose list had received 901 votes or 27.92 percent of the expressed votes before invalidation, ended up with only 7.63 percent, which was not enough to qualify for the second round.

Court highlights impact on voters

The court noted that while no "fraudulent maneuver" was found, the votes cast for Duchêne's list were "deprived of useful effect," meaning they did not contribute to a valid election result. The ruling also stated that the integrity of the vote was compromised by the irregularities.

Legal process may delay new elections

The decision does not automatically lead to new elections, as the ruling can be appealed to the Council of State within a month of being notified. If an appeal is filed, the current municipal councilors elected in March will remain in office until the courts make a final decision.

Multiple annulments in Lyon area

This annulment follows similar rulings in two other municipalities in the Lyon metropolitan area, Vénissieux and Vaulx-en-Velin, both of which were also won by candidates from La France insoumise. In those cases, irregularities involving competing lists led to the invalidation of the elections.

New winner emerges in Saint-Fons

In Saint-Fons, the list led by Hadi Mebarki, a former deputy mayor of the outgoing mayor, won the second round with nearly 41 percent of the votes, beating the list led by Mr. Debat by 116 votes.