Lyon is a handsome city, with a pleasant medieval quarter.
Frémaux has his family base in Lyon and travels the world from there.
"I can be in Los Angeles or London, or walking with my family in a park in Lyon, and everything is connected".
For all its bourgeois trappings, Lyon was then, and is now, a pretty violent place – far nastier, in my experience, than Marseille.
The Lyon chairman, Jean-Michel Aulas, has signalled his intentions to resist any summer moves for the France forward Alexandre Lacazette by stating that €50m would not be enough to sign Ligue 1's top scorer this season.
Reference to her has been expunged from all the ceremonies organised by Saint-Exupéry supporters, including the three days of celebrations in Lyon.
PSG host Lens on Saturday and Lyon travel to Montpellier on Sunday before a decisive clash with Marseille the following weekend.
Marseille moved ahead of Paris Saint-Germain on goal difference, one point behind leaders Lyon while Toulouse remained in the danger zone, two points below safety.
The Parisians have 80 points, with Lyon on 72, with one round of matches left.
The two contenders for the hotly disputed title of France's second city will be drawn closer together and be more accessible from May, when Eurostar's new, year-round direct service will link London with Marseille via Lyon and Avignon.
I visited Marseille, Lyon and Lille, moving from the south to the north, from Le Midi (Mediterranean) to La Manche (the English Channel) – finally looping back to Paris, where I live.
