AS French officials nervously led them on a preview tour to see the new décor of the Elysée Palace, newsmen fairly gaped in astonishment. In one stroke, the salons where President Georges Pompidou does much of his entertaining had been transformed from pre-Bastille to post-Kubrick. Gone from the palace (built in 1718) were the murky frescoes, the gilt-edged mirrors, the priceless Louis XV and Louis XVI furniture. The anteroom where guests are greeted is now a blast of color and light, designed by Israeli Op Artist Yaacov Agam and dominated by his wall-size...
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