This large building, located in the new part of the city, called Antigone, looks like an Arch of Triumph. It is curved and its façade presents a lot of curves. The only part which is not curved is above the arch. This place used to be an expensive restaurant. But a few years ago our new président de région (a position very similar to governor in the USA) decided not to let the place to the restaurant and to make it one of his offices. A very large and nice office. I suppose he already had as large an office in the Hôtel de Région, the "other" Arch of Triumph in Montpellier. The president can keep an eye on the Hôtel de Région (in the background in the lower photo) from his office in the curved building.I was told that converting the restaurant into an office cost us a lot. In a program on TV, we learned that the brush in the toilets had cost 800 €, that is about 1,200 $. The president, reproached with spending too much public money, answered that he didn't care about the brush since he never used it. Very probably somebody gets paid to clean the toilets after he uses them.
The part of the building in the right-hand side of the photo dwells the offices of Montpellier Agglo. The Agglo is in charge of organizing the Rugby World Cup (Coupe du Monde de rugby) which will be held in France in next September. Several matches will take place in Montpellier. The city will certainly be crowded for weeks.
Note: I have found the real price of the brush and the different objects that can be found in our president's toilets: sink over 2,000 $, tap about 1,000 $, soap dish and glass holder about 600 $, paper holder about 200 $, dustbin about 160 $, mirror over 1,000 $, and the brush between 160 and 180 $, which is quite different from what I wrote in my post :-))
On "Le monde merveilleux des bobos"
Holy smokes? That is a lot of cash for a toilet brush. Lordy lordy who uses a toilet brush that costs that much.
RépondreSupprimerOh well, I will never get there to even see it much less use it.
Thanks for your post today. I learned something about your country.
Thanks too for your frequent visits.
Abraham Lincoln
Atomic Bombs and Nuclear Energy
c'est tres beau,cela fait un penser à une arene. La brosse à 800 euros le bout, sympathique..................le restaurant devait etre vraiment tres classieux ;o)
RépondreSupprimerWhen we visit next year, I will enjoy using those toilets. The brush is more expensive than the air ticket to France.
RépondreSupprimerPerhaps I should bring an Australian brush and make an exchange?
Peut-être pas.
Ah ah M. Benaut, I doubt it that the president will let you get into his toilets and even into his office unless you offer to publish a book about him praising his intelligence, kindness and dedication to the people. If you wrote such a book, you would be a big liar :-))
RépondreSupprimerOui le resto était très classieux, Olivier. Je n'y ai jamais mis les pieds, c'était bien trop cher.
Sorry, I think I have lied too :-))) I found the prices of the things you can find in the president's office and the numbers are different:
"""Dans son palais, les nouveaux WC design en " Inox brossé " dessinés par Philippe Starck n'ont rien des feuillées pour légionnaires romains : " Lavabo à 1 591 Euros, robinet à 687 Euros, porte-savon et porte-verre à 474 Euros, dérouleur de papier Hygiénique à 165 Euros, poubelle à 133 Euros, miroir à 849 Euros, et , last but not the least, " The balayette WC Starck Duravit " à 133 Euros."""""
I am going to modify my post.....
J'aime beaucoup votre ville aussi, Montpellier est une ville bien agréable!! N'hésitez pas à faire un détour par la corse, ce pays est magnifique et recéle tant de richesses, notamment celles de l'hospitalité,et de l'accueil.
RépondreSupprimerA very pretty building indeed, but an embarrassment to have cost so much to equip--a scandal, really! Politicians should be the ones to scrub the toilets if they are like him.
RépondreSupprimer