Avenue Viviani

Avenue Viviani. A street that whispers tales of two cities. It marks the boundary between Lyon and Vénissieux. The north side belongs to Lyon. Avenue Viviani begins at Avenue de Pressensé near a small shopping center. It starts with a gentle curve. Then it transforms into a long, straight line. This line stretches beyond Lyon, past Impasse des Puiseurs. It continues until a ramp leads to the périphérique, hidden by a thicket of trees. This point, at the corner of Rue Dargent in Lyon and Louis Blanc in Vénissieux, marks a transition. Pedestrians can continue on Rue Dargent. Cars take the ramp that dips beneath the périphérique. Avenue Viviani itself is quite broad. Its roadways are divided by a median strip planted with low bushes and lampposts. Wide sidewalks offer shade beneath a row of plane trees. The avenue displays an eclectic mix of architecture. It starts with parking areas and low-rise shops before reaching the École Fournier. The school consists of a three-story diagonal block and a smaller building with a long, low structure behind it. Past Rue Albrecht, Avenue Viviani passes the concrete flank of Saint Jean church. Its spire rises obliquely. Further down stands the elongated cube of the Viviani gymnasium, situated next to a sports field. On the Vénissieux side, individual houses line the avenue, along with the distinctive grey headquarters of the company Assystem. Several alleys then lead between large white apartment buildings. These buildings have twelve marked entrances. Similar structures exist on the Vénissieux side as well. Boulevard des États-Unis creates a wide gap in front of two fourteen-story towers. These towers belong to a cluster of six. A few houses remain. One hides behind a fence at the corner of Rue André. Workshops and small apartment buildings interrupt this residential stretch. More apartment buildings stand in Vénissieux. Avenue Viviani’s style shifts again as it passes primarily individual houses, mirrored on the Vénissieux side. Number 51, marked “Le Tournesol,” displays its side before another building with shuttered balconies appears before Rue du Puisard. A gate gives access to the Stade Vuillermet. The avenue then follows the stadium’s wall to the house at the corner of Rue Cambon. A house, an apartment building, and the large purple building of a caterer follow, along with three houses, one under construction. Across in Vénissieux, large industrial workshops dominate. The avenue is named after René Viviani. He was a prominent statesman, born in 1862 (or November 8, 1863, according to a plaque) in Sidi Bel Abbès and died in Le Plessis-Robinson on September 7, 1925. Viviani’s political career led him to be a deputy, a senator, a frequent minister, and twice president of the council. He became the first Minister of Labor in 1906 when the position was created. Though he doesn’t seem to have direct ties to Lyon, he appointed Lyon native Adolphe Messimy as Minister of War in 1914.