Shanghai Daily news

France yesterday unveiled its World Expo national pavilion-a design with a simple look but a huge budget.

The model of the selected design is on display at the Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition Center, along with the other three prize-winning designs for the French Pavilion competition.

The final design "the Sensual City" was chosen from 49 entries. It appears as a simple building with a large French-style garden inside. Surrounded by water, it looks as though it is floating, said Jose Freches, the president of COFRES, the company in charge of France's participation.

The French government has allocated a record 50-million-euro (US$79 million) budget for its national pavilion.

"As far as I know, this is the biggest budget of all the participants," said Xu Bo, the director of the International Participation Department of the Bureau of World Expo Coordination.

At least 80 percent of the budget will be used in constructing the 6,000-square-meter pavilion, said Freches.

The France Pavilion, designed by Jacques Ferrier and his team, provides a unique opportunity to reinforce France's image in China.

All the talents and financial forces available will be gathered to make this dream come true, said French President Nicolas Sarkozy in a statement.

The France Pavilion is unique in terms of form and technology. It will represent France's contribution to the sustainable urban development for one of the biggest financial cities on the planet, Sarkozy said.

The pavilion will use the most advanced building materials and environmental protection technology. It will be a shining example of energy efficiency and recycling techniques, according to the pavilion's official Website.

Although the design had been selected, the country still flew all four finalists in the competition to Shanghai. "We want to listen to the opinions of Shanghai residents about the content of the exhibition in the French Pavilion," Freches said.

The exhibition will run until April 6.