Aux armes, citoyens !

After La Maison des Inquants and Les Halles, here is a fine example of Narbonne's 20th-century patrimoine. Work on Le Palais des Arts, des Sports, et du Travail was started in 1938, and it shows. The brutalist concrete structure is politely described as belonging to "the modern monumental classicist movement, in response to the culturalist and progressive ideology of the period." Work was halted because of the war, and by 1952 it was only half-finished. The assembly room was only completed in 1967 and the planned theatre never emerged from the concrete mixers. It is still in regular use though, with a gym, a swimming pool, and meeting rooms.

It's quite staggeringly ugly, but I've spared you the worst of it. On the front of it are allegorical sculptures representing, of course, sports, art, and work. The athletes look as if they are gearing up for the paralympics, as they are missing a number of limbs. This bold trio is clearly getting ready to do some grape-harvesting.