Paris attacks victims names projected on buildings in Lyon

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.