Lyon Finds Time to Promote Itself
Watches engraved with the words “Lyon, International Crossroads” are contained in gift cases handed to reporters accredited to cover the trial of former Nazi Gestapo officer Klaus Barbie.
With about 700 reporters from around the world expected to cover the two-month trial opening today, city authorities have embarked on a mammoth public relations campaign to keep some of the limelight for Lyon.
The black case contains no information on the crimes allegedly committed by Barbie. Nor does it allude to life in the city under German occupation during World War II.
Inside instead are maps, guides and promotional leaflets vaunting the architectural, cultural and, especially, culinary delights of France’s second largest city, population 400,000, which is 293 miles southeast of Paris.
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