Lyon-Sucriere

Lyon (French pronunciation: [ljɔ̃] ( listen) locally [lijɔ̃]; Occitan: Lion; Arpitan: Liyon, IPA: [ʎjɔ̃]; English: /liːˈɒn/ or anglicized as Lyons/ˈlaɪ.ənz/), is a city in east-central France in the Rhône-Alpes region, situated between Paris and Marseille. Lyon is located at 470 km (292 mi) from Paris, 320 km (199 mi) from Marseille, 160 km (99 mi) from Geneva, 280 km (174 mi) from Turin, and 600 km (373 mi) from Barcelona. The residents of the city are called Lyonnais.

The city of Lyon has 480,660 inhabitants. Together with its suburbs and satellite towns, Lyon forms the largest agglomeration (metropolitan area) in France with the population of its urban area estimated to be 1,422,331 (Paris having no agglomeration) and the second urban area with 1,757,180. Its urban region represents half of the Rhône-Alpes region population with 2.9 million inhabitants. Lyon is the capital of this region, as well as the capital of the smaller Rhône département.

The French Republic (French: République française [ʁepyblik fʁɑ̃sɛz]), commonly known as France (English ⁱ/ˈfræns/ franss or /ˈfrɑːns/ frahnss; French: [fʁɑ̃s] ( listen)), is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean. It is often referred to as l’Hexagone ("The Hexagon") because of the geometric shape of its territory. It is the largest western European country and it possesses the second-largest exclusive economic zone in the world, covering 11,035,000 km² (4,260,000 sq mi), just behind that of the United States (11,351,000 km² / 4,383,000 sq mi).

La Sucrière is a famous building devoted to contemporary art, situated 48 Quai Rambaud, on the banks of the Saône in the Confluence quarter of the 2nd arrondissement of Lyon.

It was built in 1930 and was originally used for a factory warehouse in which sugar was stored. It was enlarged in 1960 and finally abandoned in 1990. The building was completely renoved in 2003 by architect William Vassal to turn it into a place for exhibitions of contemporary art. It has thus became the main venue of the Biennale of Contemporary Art in Lyon from 2007. Its 9,000 m² aera spread on three floor houses a complex and original architecture.

In 2008, an exhibition of flayed bodies caused a controversy about the origin of the corpses. The exhibition attracted 4,000 visitors per week.