Just a stroll away from the Louvre and the river Seine lies a monstrous underground shopping mall in the centre of the French capital -- a huge concrete colossus many Parisians shun and which is slowly falling apart. Some 30 years ago, the construction of the giant Forum des Halles caused an outcry in the historic commercial district of Paris that had housed food markets since the Middle Ages. Residents were divided over the destruction of the old market's pavilions which left a gaping hole in the centre of Paris for several years -- which was finally filled with a maze of neon-lit hallways, shops, cinemas and a large underground train station.
