Symbol of a "Modern and Conquering France."

It's real purty an' all, but a bridge on this scale just doesn't seem quite . . . necessary. I mean, when I look at the landscape, I don't quite see why they couldn't just build a road down from one plateau and up onto the other, with a smaller, more humble bridge crossing the river.

I like structural design and feats of engineering as much as the next guy, but I also like the way the countryside looks au naturale.

More pictures and info here.

Kathy at Cake Eater Chronicles takes the opportunity to level hoots and catcalls at Jacques Chirac here.

The dark side of me says perhaps they built it so that when terrorists finally succeed in bringing down the Eiffel Tower, France will still have an iconic architectural curiosity.