Parents demand climate-focused schools

Parents from the Écoles vivantes Besançon collective gathered in front of the City Hall in Besançon before the municipal council meeting to demand that schools be adapted to address climate change. They reminded attendees that they had sent an open letter to mayor Ludovic Fagaut on September 16, which remained "without a response."

Flower embellishment sparks debate

The topic of flower embellishment returned unexpectedly, leading to a lively exchange between the opposition and the majority. Opposition members, including Hasni Alem (PCF), Anthony Poulin, Séverine Vézies, and Anne Vignot, criticized the lack of response to their requests regarding access to bills related to the city's flower embellishment policy.

Mayor defends secrecy around flower policy

The majority stated that it had provided responses in line with its public policy and referred questions to the committees, while the opposition emphasized the factual and objective nature of its requests. In response to Séverine Vézies, Ludovic Fagaut stated that behind the flower embellishment policy were elements under cover of secrecy, including industrial secrets that could not be disclosed in this manner.

Opposition reacts to mayor's remarks

A remark that did not fail to make the opposition smile, as exemplified by Hélène Magnin-Feysot, who asked, "for you, flower bills are industrial secrets?" Fagaut declined to answer further.

Mobilization against attacks on mayor and family

A lively debate opposed the mayor and the executive to the opposition groups regarding attacks targeting the mayor and his family, including Nazi connotation photomontages, insulting stickers, and threats against his daughter. Jean-Sébastien Leuba (PS) condemned the facts but criticized the mayor's approach of publicly exposing accusations without naming individuals.

Majority and opposition clash on insults

Emmanuelle Huot-Cusenier, a majority member, also condemned these actions and reproached the socialist group for its refusal to clearly condemn insults and historical amalgamations, reminding that the same group had condemned similar attacks against other officials when it was in the majority.

Socialist group defends its stance

The socialist group, through Abdel Ghezali, replied that they unambiguously condemned personal attacks and references to Nazism, while specifying that the criticism concerned the mandate and not the individuals. Hasni Alem wished to speak on this subject but was not allowed to speak due to having exhausted his speaking time on the flower embellishment topic.

Mayor warns of last reminder

He was brought back to order by Ludovic Fagaut, who warned that it would be the last time he reminded him to order.

Internal regulation changes draw criticism

The modification of the municipal council's internal regulations was the most anticipated topic of the evening and also the one to which the elected officials devoted the most time. The "refurbishment" of the internal regulations, proposed by the mayor, aimed to reduce the speaking time for political groups and no longer for elected officials individually.

Speaking time reductions criticized

The speaking time for elected officials is thus reduced to two times five minutes per group and per subject. However, for the budget orientation debates and the budget report, the speaking time per group is divided as follows: one time ten minutes, then a second potential speaking time of three minutes.

Mayor justifies changes

The mayor justified his desire to modify the current regulation by stating that he wanted to counter "the complete democratic obstruction of the opposition on all reports." This decision was perceived as a way to "muzzle the speech" of the opposition.

Previous reductions of speaking time

The mayor is not new to this, as in September last year, the elected officials of the community council had already seen their speaking time reduced by the executive of Grand Besançon Métropole.

Rapporteur defends regulation changes

During the council, the rapporteur of the report concerning the modification of the internal regulations, Emmanuelle Huot-Cusenier, stated that a duration of more than 8 hours for a municipal council was not "something suitable for democracy" and that "interventions not concerning reports put to vote (...) harm democracy."

Opposition calls for legal challenge

She specified that this modification aimed above all to "allow democratic debate under good conditions." Séverine Vézies denounced an "authoritarian takeover" infringing on the individual expression rights of elected officials and announced a recourse before the administrative court.

Mayor dismisses opposition concerns

Hasni Alem told Ludovic Fagaut, "You are neither god nor master here." Anthony Poulin, Anne Vignot, and Aline Chassagne requested to defer this decision on the regulations. They were joined by Jean-Sébastien Leuba who requested to convene the group presidents to prefer "dialogue to censorship."

Mayor rejects political slogans

The mayor of Besançon replied that the Besançonnais do not need political slogans. The elected officials approved the proposals for modifying the internal regulations of the Besançon City Council, despite opposition from the opposition elected officials.

MJC des Clairs Soleils faces funding issues

Starting from 2027, the municipal councils will take place on Fridays at 9 am. The situation of the MJC des Clairs Soleils was also addressed. Séverine Vézies denounced the delay in the decision on the subsidy until December, which puts three already eliminated jobs and the payment of salaries for October-November at risk.

Majority defends financial transparency

The majority, through the voice of Ludovic Fagaut and Laurent Croizier, rejected any implication suggesting that the city wished for the disappearance of the MJC, and reminded that respecting financial transparency requirements was a legal obligation for any association benefiting from public funds.

Mayor denies creating crisis

They added that it was not the current majority that created the current crisis at the MJC des Clairs Soleils, noting that the association had not properly accounted for the elements for more than four years. Ludovic Fagaut stated that the crisis had not been created by the current majority.

City refuses new agreement without guarantees

Without guarantees of recovery, the City will refuse to enter into a new agreement with the association but affirms that it will not abandon the Clairs-Soleil neighborhood. He added, "We must not confuse the future of a neighborhood with that of an association."

Grette-Brûlard neighborhood issues

Regarding the Grette-Brûlard neighborhood, the exchanges were dominated by two tension topics: on the one hand, the arena project, which the majority confirmed was under study but without clearly specifying neither its location nor its schedule; on the other hand, the apparent abandonment of the initially announced autonomous residence.

Opposition criticizes lack of consultation

The opposition denounced this as a political mistake in the face of demographic aging, while the majority justified this decision by the cost (24 to 30 M€), the lack of prior consultation with the department (tutelary authority), the limited capacity of the CCAS, and the evolution of the needs of the elderly towards home care.

Social housing and project adjustments

While mentioning the possibility of private financing and the need to rethink the residential path. The question of maintaining social housing (T4/T5) in the project, essential for social mixity and the school population of the neighborhood, was also raised without a definitive answer.

Eco-neighborhood of Vaîtes update

The eco-neighborhood of the Vaîtes status as of December 31, 2025, was discussed. The last activity report of concession (CRAC) presented in the municipal council this Thursday reports on the total of expenses and revenues realized during the 2025 exercise on the ZAC of the Vaîtes.

Adaptation of project after elections

As of 31/12/25, the updated forecast of expenses remains unchanged and amounts to 32,734 k€. The updated forecast of revenues amounts to 32,734 k€. However, the 2026 municipal elections have brought new orientations, notably the lowering of the tallest buildings (R+10).

Revisions to project design

A decision that implies reworking the distribution of density at the island in order to preserve the number of housing units planned. Also, the principle of parking, now distributed at the island (underground and/or aerial) rather than mutualized in a silo parking.

Executive outlines project changes

The executive stated that it had engaged "an in-depth work of adaptation and adjustment of the project by the urban design team, while ensuring the preservation of the goals and ambitions of the community."

Opposition questions sincerity of majority

The persistent ambiguity around the number of housing units was discussed. The opposition questioned the sincerity of the majority: while it had promised to stop the project and restart it from zero with consultation, it now only proposes adjustments, according to them.

Opposition requests clarifications

The opposition requested clarifications on three points: the number of housing units envisioned, the ground area of the constructions after the abandonment of the heights R9-R10 and the silo parking, and the financial and legal consequences of these changes on the balance of the ZAC.

Mayor disputes housing unit numbers

The vote on still unclear orientations seems premature to them; the group of Séverine Vézies announced that it would vote against and proposes rather an urban natural park rather than the urbanization of the market garden lands. The mayor Ludovic Fagaut replied that the project had indeed been revised.

Mayor accuses opposition of false numbers

Reduction of the land area to 4.5 hectares, removal of the R9-R10 towers and the silo parking (whose land area will be converted into housing), initiatives undertaken with the Mutualité française to produce housing outside the ZAC. He also contested the figure of 300 housing units and accused the opposition of "throwing out false numbers."

Mayor accuses Anne Vignot of lying

And reminded that the previous administration would have produced only about 145 housing units per year against 450 announced. After a squabble, Ludovic Fagaut accused Anne Vignot of lying in turn. Without answering the question of the number of housing units projected on the Vaîtes project.

Cultural subsidy report sparks conflict

Anarchy entered the debate while the report number 20 dealing with the allocation of subsidies to cultural associations was addressed. Abdel Ghezali mentioned the recent renaming of the exhibition Ni Dieu ni maître ! Arts and anarchism from Courbet to Banksy by the municipality.

Opposition criticizes cultural policy

Hélène Magnin-Feysot followed suit but the tone quickly became confrontational when Hélène Magnin-Feysot called the policy of the deputy mayor for Culture, "dirty." She declared that it was an exhibition on anarchism, by Gustave Courbet.

Mayor demands apology

It has been said, we are the city, the cradle of anarchism and utopianism. And anarchism, so it can surprise us, but it is a political conception of society. And therefore, it can also question you, but art is often political. And politics is not a bad word.

Mayor ends session with suspension

And it's not because your way of doing politics is dirty that you must deprive others... These words immediately outraged the session president, Ludovic Fagaut, who demanded public apologies. Hélène Magnin-Feysot refused to apologize, stating, "I am not your student and I will not apologize."

Mayor sanctions another official

The mayor then demanded the suspension of the session for five minutes. He also sanctioned another elected official, Séverine Vézies, whom he accused of filming during the meeting. He added that he would file a complaint and that it was a shame.

Session resumes after suspension

Séverine Vézies stated that she could not endorse these elements and that it was inexcusable. The session resumed after five minutes. The mayor finally put report number 20 to vote, with oppositions and abstentions, while reserving the right to pursue disciplinary actions from the incident.

Assembly of Sages regulation changes

The municipal council was also called upon to position itself on the renewal of the Assembly of Sages and on the adoption of the charter and the internal regulations of the body. Among the new elements of the internal regulations, it specifies that the body will no longer be composed of 30 members but now of 40, of which 10 will be appointed by the mayor, Ludovic Fagaut.

Opposition reacts to regulation changes

A criterion that has of course made the Besançon opposition grumble. The call for applications to join the Assembly of Sages will be launched after the Rendez-vous de l'âge, announced on November 3 at Micropolis. The municipal council ended at 22:43.