Lyon-born Benzema is Algerian-French. His grandfather, Da Lakehal Benzema, lived in Tigzirt in Algeria’s northern town of At Djellil before coming to Lyon in the 1950s.

Benzema’s mother, Wahida Djebbara, was born in Lyon and raised there; her family were from Oran. Her father, Hafid, was from Tigzirt.

Third-born Benzema grew up in Bron, Lyon, with eight siblings. His younger brothers Gressy and Sabri play football.

Lyons is France’s second-largest metropolitan region. Lyon is France’s third-largest city.

Near the Rhône-Saône confluence, it is 50 km (31 mi) northeast of Saint-Étienne, 278 km (173 mi) north of Marseille, and 391 km (243 mi) southeast of Paris.

Lyon was France’s second-most populous metropolitan area in 2019, with 2,280,845 residents.

Lyon proper has 522,969 residents in its tiny 48 km2 (19 sq mi) municipal territory.