Jean-Michel Aulas ruffles feathers in Lyon after swapping football for politics

<p>Club’s former owner leads the polls in spiky mayoral race but is accused of putting forward ‘nothing of substance’</p><p>Karim Benzema doesn’t often involve himself in French politics. At the end of January, though, the striker gave a glowing endorsement of Jean-Michel Aulas, the former Lyon president who is leading the city’s mayoral race.</p><p>“He has everything it takes to do well,” Benzema said in a video played on the news channel LCI as Aulas was being interviewed. “He’s someone who people listen to, he knows where he wants to go and he has a lot of experience,” the former Real Madrid player added. The Lyon-born striker was later joined by Bafétimbi Gomis in showing support for their former boss.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2026/mar/10/jean-michel-aulas-lyon-mayoral-race-football-politics">Continue reading...</a>