Vourles Mayor Outraged as 120 Traveller Caravans Illegally Occupy Land Near Lyon
Vourles, June 3, 2026 – Approximately 120 caravans belonging to travellers have illegally settled on a plot of land in Vourles, south of Lyon, since Sunday, May 31. The mayor of Vourles, Catherine Staron, and the president of the Communauté de communes de la Vallée du Garon (Com’com), Damien Combet, have expressed their deep concern and are calling for immediate action from the authorities to evacuate the site.
The land, located near the Leroy Merlin store, belongs to the Com’com and is not designated for such encampments. Despite protective measures put in place to prevent intrusions, the travellers managed to gain access.
“We are taken hostage”
“The land was protected precisely to prevent these intrusions, but they pushed everything aside to settle. We are like hostages,” stated Mayor Staron to actu Lyon. She noted that while traveller passages in Vourles are not new, they have become more frequent in recent years.
“Before, we could discuss with them to bring them to designated transit areas, but lately, we no longer have any control; it’s constant. We can no longer dialogue without threats behind it. For example, in October, they settled without authorization near the market, where they stayed for almost a month,” Mayor Staron added.
The mayor also highlighted the financial burden on the community. The travellers are currently connected to a fire hydrant for water supply. “This represents an enormous cost for the community, because the last time they came, they consumed several thousand cubic meters of water. Not to mention the state in which we find the land each time…” she explained.
Complaint Filed and Call for State Intervention
Damien Combet, president of the Com’com, emphasized that the affected land has been leased by the Vourles Canine Education Association for nearly 40 years, and they should not suffer the consequences of this illegal occupation. He also pointed out that a designated transit area belonging to the community is located in Montagny, only two kilometers away, but it has a capacity of only 80 spaces.
“We had agreed on an arrival at this area with a part of this group for this Tuesday, June 2, but there were ultimately many more than expected,” regretted Combet.
Frustrated, Combet filed a complaint with the gendarmerie on Monday morning and appealed to the Prefect of Rhône, Étienne Guyot, for the authorities to evacuate the land as quickly as possible. “We are not going to lie down. This time it’s Vourles, but the communes of Brignais or Montagny also often bear the brunt. There are laws, and these must be applied equally to everyone,” he insisted.
“We cannot enforce the law alone”
Both officials are hoping for a swift intervention from law enforcement, stating, “without them, we can do nothing.” While the Vourles municipality plans to secure the market area soon to prevent further illegal introductions, Mayor Staron stressed that “the answer, ultimately, is not ours as a community.”
She concluded, “We cannot enforce the law alone. To help us do so, the State must be able to cooperate, because the residents, in the end, are fed up.”
The incident in Vourles is part of a broader trend of large traveller gatherings in the Lyon region, with recent occurrences also reported in Chaponnay and Saint-André-de-Corcy (Ain).
Source: actu.fr
