Lyon City Hall delegation visits Armenian Genocide Memorial

A delegation from Lyon City Hall visited the Armenian Genocide Memorial on October 24 to pay tribute to the victims of the Armenian Genocide.

The delegation included Sophia Popoff, Deputy Mayor of Lyon responsible for biodiversity; Sébastien Bouchet, Director of the Biodiversity and Urban Nature Department; and Juliane Gourdin, Head of Human Rights, Urban Diplomacy and Climate Diplomacy Programs, the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute said in a statement.

The French delegation was welcomed by Lusine Abrahamyan, Deputy Director of the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute for Museum Affairs. She presented the history of the Memorial’s construction, its architectural features and its significance.

Sophia Popoff laid a wreath at the memorial commemorating the victims of the Armenian Genocide. The guests then laid flowers at the eternal flame to pay tribute to their memory.

“Lusine Abrahamyan accompanied the guests to the Memorial Wall, behind which, in specially designated niches, are small urns containing soil taken from the graves of several foreign public and political figures, intellectuals and missionaries who spoke out against the mass killings of Armenians and the genocide perpetrated by the Turkish government in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The guests listened with particular interest to accounts of the pro-Armenian activities of Anatole France and Louis Dartige du Fournet,” the Museum-Institute said, adding that the delegation from France toured the Armenian Genocide Museum and viewed its permanent and temporary exhibitions.

At the end of the visit, Sophia Popoff made an entry in the Book of Honorary Guests.