Philippe Saurel is a well-known political figure in Montpellier:

• He was Mayor of Montpellier from 2014 to 2020 and President of Montpellier Méditerranée Métropole during the same period.
• A member of the Socialist Party until 2014, he then continued his political career as diverse left / non-partisan and asserted himself as a dissident figure vis-à-vis traditional party apparatuses.

During his mandate, he promoted a municipal policy combining local security, urban development, and the implementation of mechanisms sometimes perceived as innovative and others as political communication techniques (illustrated by certain citizen engagements). The citizen movement #JeSuisUnDesDeux notably marked this period in connection with issues of soft mobility (cycling and cycling infrastructure) in the city.

Repositioning in the Municipal Campaign

In June 2025, Philippe Saurel announced that he would be the local leader of the Utiles movement (Ultra-marins, Territoires, Indépendants, Libertés, Écologie et Solidarité), a trans-partisan political movement stemming from the LIOT parliamentary group. He has since officially declared his candidacy for mayor of Montpellier for the 2026 municipal elections.

In his statements, Saurel emphasized that he intends to form a new and disinterested team, locally rooted. He focuses on a trans-partisan approach, open to all sensibilities except extremes, with the aim of gathering citizens around concrete projects for the city.

Criticism of the Current Situation

In July 2025, Philippe Saurel sent a letter to the prefect to alert on the financial situation of Montpellier Méditerranée Métropole, judging the situation "calamitous" and criticizing the current management of debt and expenses, which, according to him, compromise the financial balance of the community.

This stance is part of a strategy of targeted criticism towards the current municipal team and highlighting his own political clarity as the municipal elections approach.

Political Positioning

Philippe Saurel has long defined himself as an elected official without a strict partisan label, positioning himself on a trans-partisan line. He publicly supported Emmanuel Macron from the 2017 presidential campaign and, on that occasion, participated in part of Macron's campaign team while remaining independent of La République en Marche. Although he did not join the presidential party, several local supporters from the presidential majority preferred to support him rather than the candidate invested by LREM during the 2020 municipal elections in Montpellier, which testifies to a political proximity with the center and the presidential majority on certain axes, without constituting a formal adherence to a national party.

Assessment of the 2014-2020 Mandate

Election and Structured Opposition

During the 2020 municipal elections, Philippe Saurel failed to remain mayor:

• His "non-partisan / diverse left" list garnered 19.11% of the votes in the first round and 34.65% in the second, which allowed him to remain the primary opposition force in the municipal council with 11 seats, behind Michaël Delafosse's socialist list which won the mayoralty.

Actions of the Mandate

Several points marked his time at the head of Montpellier:

• Reinforced Municipal Security: recruitment of municipal police officers and development of video surveillance.
• Mobility and Cycling: citizen initiatives like the #JeSuisUnDesDeux movement illustrated the importance of debates around cycling infrastructure and mobility policy — often at the heart of local controversies.
• Metropolitan Governance: as president of the metropolis, he steered investment and inter-municipal coordination policies, which were both praised and criticized depending on local sensibilities.

#JeSuisUnDesDeux – A Symbolic Movement of the Mandate

The #JeSuisUnDesDeux movement is a citizen initiative born in Montpellier around cycling mobility issues, notably from associations and collectives demanding better integration of facilities for bicycles and soft mobility in the city.

This movement has often served as a media barometer of local tensions between different visions of public space, sometimes approved or instrumentalized by deputy mayors or municipal officials during Saurel's mandate. It illustrates a civic and activist dynamic around mobility, which Saurel had to manage as mayor — which is part of the evaluation of his record and the local public debate.