One of the largest is in the Place de la Concorde in Paris, where the 32m (108ft) Egyptian obelisk has, after a couple of false starts, been converted into a giant sundial with the help of a few judiciously placed markings on the pavement.

ECONOMIST: Gnomonic possession

The BBC television presentation team will be based in a specially constructed studio overlooking the Place de la Concorde in the heart of Paris.

BBC: TV at the heart of France 98

When the 47-year-old sheep farmer (and one-time student activist) appeared in court at the end of last month in the sleepy town of Millau, in France's south-western region of Aveyron, he attracted some 40, 000 fans roughly the same number who this week jammed Paris's Place de la Concorde to greet the French soccer team, back from winning the European championship in the Netherlands.

ECONOMIST: The French farmers’ anti-global hero | The