Giant boars, cockerels, horses and strange geometric shapes sprout from the roadsides of the motorway network.
Why? Because of the 1% artistique, a law dating from 1951 which aims to support artistic creation and encourage the populace to appreciate modern French art.
The law says that whenever a new public building goes up - such as a school, police station, court or library – 1% of the cost of construction should be spent on one or more works of art to be integrated in the building or located near to it.
The 1% is calculated on the total, pre-tax cost of the work minus architect’s fee, roadworks and furnishings. If the money ...
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