Modern French architecture can be eccentric, and perhaps that eccentricity simply reflects quirky French industrial design. Remember the eccentric (but beloved) Citroen 2CV and the exotic and enchanting Citroen DS 21 Pallas?  Aesthetics sometimes play no role in design, and perhaps that is especially so in a country, such as France, that prides itself on "rational" design.  Consider the cumbersome Airbus 380, certainly on the list of the 10 Ugliest Aircraft of All Time.

That said, eccentric can be entertaining as well as functional. The Centre Pompidou is a prime example, with its color-coded external utilities and structure.  These high-contrast monochrome images emphasize the shapes.  The last colored image emphasizes some roof-top shapes that are highly functional parts of the ventilation system.  Or perhaps they are only decorative. It is hard to tell. The gold flower pot may just be awaiting a huge flower, to be dropped, perhaps, from a low-flying Airbus 380.

As seen from the Pompidou on a gray day, the shades of Paris are muted and its shapes are abstracted.  The Tower loses its singularity to upstart construction cranes.  

Sometimes progress results in a net loss.  The old Les Halles market was a stylish and much-loved filigree of iron work and glass, mowed down in 1971 in the name of progress.  But the recent refurbishment of that entire area will be striking when complete. Now there is a newly installed canopy at Forum des Halles that soars over part of the neighborhood.  The roof structure is a clever series of lapped wings that shed rain and allow good air flow.  The result is a lively mall.  It is almost as though Eero Saarinen's TWA Flight Center at JFK had been transported to Paris.

Even steps and escalators make a statement.

Outside, on a misty night, the green "walk" figure at a street crossing differs in subtle - more human - ways from the shape used in the US.