Yoann Pimentel Sanchez Elected as New Regional Coordinator for Volt Centre-Est
Yoann Pimentel Sanchez, a municipal councillor in Savigny-en-Revermont, was unanimously elected as the regional coordinator for Volt Center-East during the movement’s general assembly in Lyon on September 26, 2026. Succeeding Jules Bretot for a two-year term, Sanchez takes the helm with a clear directive: expand the pan-European federalist party’s footprint across 20 distinct departments.
Unanimous Election in Lyon Sets New Course
Building Grassroots Power Across Twenty Departments
The general assembly brought together members of Volt Center-East to outline strategic development for the upcoming term. According to a communique issued by the movement on September 27, 2026, the central priority is building strong departmental teams across the 20 territories spanning Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and Bourgogne-Franche-Comté.
The targeted departments in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes include the Ain, Allier, Ardèche, Cantal, Drôme, Isère, Loire, Haute-Loire, Puy-de-Dôme, Rhône, Savoie, and Haute-Savoie. In Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, the expansion covers Côte-d’Or, Doubs, Jura, Nièvre, Haute-Saône, Saône-et-Loire, Yonne, and the Territoire de Belfort.
Local referents will animate these teams, gathering members and sympathizers, increasing on-the-ground visibility, and organizing local events. As Yoann Pimentel Sanchez stated in the official release, the objective is straightforward: “We want to build an organization present on the ground, capable of making Volt live in our departments and preparing for the upcoming electoral deadlines.”
Targeting Legislative Contests and Continental Integration
Alongside local structuring, Volt Center-East is gearing up for upcoming legislative elections. The movement has initiated a search to identify and accompany candidates willing to carry the Volt banner across various constituencies in the two covered regions.
This regional push aligns directly with the broader framework of Volt Europa. Founded in 2017, the pan-European movement operates in 31 countries, boasting over 34,000 members, more than 400 elected officials, and five Members of the European Parliament. Volt maintains a distinctly federalist platform, advocating for a democratic, integrated European Union equipped with common institutions capable of addressing macro-level challenges.
Bridging Local Roots and European Ambitions
The organization’s structure extends beyond the current borders of the European Union, maintaining presences in the United Kingdom, Switzerland, and Ukraine. “Our goal is to link the local establishment of Volt to its European and federalist political project,” Sanchez noted, emphasizing the continuity between municipal involvement and continental objectives.
Sanchez takes over the leadership mantle from outgoing coordinator Jules Bretot. During the Lyon assembly, Bretot presented a comprehensive review of his mandate, evaluating past performance and outlining growth trajectories for the movement.
With a two-year mandate ahead, the newly elected regional coordinator faces the dual challenge of institutionalizing local party structures from scratch in dozens of departments while positioning the pan-European message for national legislative contests.