France unveiled its national pavilion for World Expo 2010 Shanghai - The Sensual City - as the country signed a participation contract with Expo organizers yesterday.

The final design was selected from 49 candidates and is a simple building with a large French-style garden inside. The pavilion will enable visitors to see, taste, touch, smell and hear the glamor of France, said Jose Freches, president of Cofres, the company in charge of France's participation. The pavilion will be surrounded by water and will appear to be floating, he said. The reflection of the pavilion in the water and creeks inside the garden would present visitors with a cool and beautiful world.

The pavilion will also have a restaurant on the top floor to offer visitors famous French cuisine. Impressionist Claude Monet's paintings will be featured on souvenirs, said the organizers.

The French government has allocated a 50-million-euro (US$77.6 million) budget for the pavilion.

At least 80 percent of the total 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 great opportunity to reinforce France's image in China. All the talents and financial forces will be gathered to make it real, said French President Nicolas Sarkozy in a statement when he picked the design.

The France Pavilion will present France's contribution in sustainable urban development for one of the biggest economic metropolises on the planet, Sarkozy said. He said the pavilion would be a "shining example" of energy efficiency and recycling techniques.

(Shanghai Daily June 19, 2008)