The French city of Lyon on Tuesday, December 8, paid
tribute to the 130 victims of Paris attacks by lighting up the names on
buildings lining the Saone Rivers. The first name of the victims was lit
up in a giant
hand-written scrawl as thousands looked on.
The
commemoration took the place of the Festival of Lights, a
four-day event that draws around three million people to the city,
which was cancelled this year over security concerns following the
November 13 attacks in Paris.
Lyon’s mayor Gerard Collomb called for the tribute instead,
while city residents still placed lighted candles in their windows and
in public squares as tradition dictates.
And a light installation that had been planned for the cancelled
festival was retained for Tuesday’s event, a creation titled “Regards”
(Looks) by Daniel Knipper.
The installation featured 80 penetrating glances and gazes depicted
in works of art by masters such as Matisse and Botticelli, projected
against a basilica and the facades of the quayside buildings.
