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The Green mayor concerned about the environmental impact of Tour de France
The mayor of Lyon Grégory Doucet has been very discreet on the national scene as freshly voted into office in June’s municipal elections, where environmentalists scored major gains until he began to raise the taboo-breaking question of whether the annual event Tour de France is such a good thing.
The controversy originated on Wednesday prior to Lyon was to host the Tour’s Stage 14th on weekend, describing the event as “macho and polluting.”
Tour de France has for more than a century been an adored feature of the French calendar. However, being one of a new generation of Green mayors, Mr. Doucet said that he did not intend to bid for stages of the Tour in the future until the event had “shown that it can evolve.”
Lyon has spent about 600,000 euros to host this year’s stage finish of the Tour’s Stage 14th as a decision made by the previous city administration. Mayor Doucet has said that it is “no longer acceptable” to host sporting events “whose priority is not to consider their environmental footprint.”
For many in France, the race goes to the core of French identity weather they are cycling fans or not, with its long history, exciting mountain-top finishes, and crowds of spectators.
Tour director Christian Prudhomme insisted that the race has no intention of going “where it is not wanted.”
“The Green mayors believe that we are not going far enough, not fast enough, but we are making progress,” he said, adding that all race organization vehicles are required to be hybrid vehicles.
