Skyscraper at Amiens

The tallest skyscraper in France today is in the cathedral town of Amiens, a 25-story tower made of reinforced concrete, named for Architect Auguste Ferret. Far from pointing to the building with pride, the people of Amiens have scornfully dubbed it La Chandelle (The Candle). To the French government, which owns it, the Perret Tower has become a national scandal. Abuilding since 1949, it is still unfinished inside, already 30 months behind schedule and 132 million francs over its original 93-million-franc estimate. Last week the French government offered the tower to private investors. Price: one-fifth its cost to date. Takers: none.

The tower's troubles date back almost to the day the designs were finished by the late, famed Architect Perret. In digging the foundations, workmen uncovered a subterranean river, which had to be diverted from its course. As work progressed it turned out that the city water pressure was too low to force water above the 20th story. Then someone figured out that the building's two seven-passenger elevators would take nearly two hours to get the building's 350 prospective tenants to work.

Finally, the accounting tribunal of the French bureaucracy began looking around for an out. In quick succession the tower was turned down by the state railroads, post office and TV station. When private capital also refused to bite last week, the only remaining buyer in sight seemed to be the department of the Somme. But the Somme's Conseil General has already put itself on record as waiting "until the government offers us the tower for a symbolic payment of one franc."

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