But boy, look at what at could have been if Balladur had gone with the other design by Jean Nouvel (perhaps France’s most celebrated architect, who later initiated and won legal action against the government for flouting European free competition laws in their selection process). Here’s his design:

Looks straightforward enough, right?  Look again. And again. And again. Below, the renderings show that Nouvel had come up with what he called

a radical solution that resolves the problem of the angle of view onto the playing fields and ensures optimal field lighting. The stadium is not partially modifiable- it is 100% flexible. A complementary flexibility is included: the sliding roof maximizes sunshine on the field and shades the stands in summertime. The underside of the grandstands is lined with retractable awnings that hang from the level of the stands. The stadium will be for between 25 and 80,000 spectators.

So, you know, just in case you ever need a stadium where the stands, roof and pretty much everything else moves, you know who to call.

Photo credit: Hugo* on Flickr, via the Pitch Invasion photo pool.

In the second of our photo series this week on the 2006 World Cup, here’s the unpleasant side of “celebration” from the night France beat Brazil 1-0 in the quarter finals.

The photographer explains:

Paris took to the streets to celebrate, invading the whole Champs-Elysées. Unfortunately, things turned nasty: clashes erupted between some “casseurs” (trouble-makers) and riot police near the Place de l’Etoile, with a car eventually burnt down rue de Presbourg (in front of the Drugstore).

Here, you see one of the “casseurs” in front of the burning car (seen from the Champs-Elysées side of the street).