Eight French roundabouts with bizarre statues

Cultural laws require funding for roadside art projects… but the art commissioned can be surprising

Some of the artwork seems completely out of place

shizumaru / lafleeeeeur / mairie6_8 / transjadada / Twitter

Sophie Parsons Sophie Parsons

Published Wednesday 20 March 2024 - 12:59 Modified Wednesday 20 March 2024 - 12:59

If you are driving in France for an extended period, it is more than likely you will come across a roundabout or two.

France, unofficially, has the most roundabouts in the world with more than 60,000, and they are favoured as a low-cost measure to reduce accidents.

However, at the centre of many of these roundabouts is a piece of artwork, often contemporary, and sometimes completely bizarre.

A law known as the 1% artistique is responsible for these pieces.

First passed in 1951, this law required 1% of the expected budget of any public building work (schools, police stations, etc) to go towards purchasing or commissioning artwork.

This was later expanded to include road projects, leading to a flurry of art across the country, with local councils needing to comply with the law when constructing new roundabouts.

Some of these are related to local culture or industry, such as the lentil statues of Cussac-sur-Loire.

Others, however – including the infamous giant kiwi of Peyrehorade – seem completely out of place.

There is even a Facebook group called 'Neurchi de ronds-points moches' where users share photos of the ugliest roundabout art they have found.

Below are some of the most bizarre we have come across.