Star-Studded or Star-Crossed?

The World Cup has returned to its French roots, prepared to stage on a grand scale the vision first proposed by Frenchman Jules Rimet in 1928.

France hosted the third tournament, in 1938, an event overshadowed by the gathering clouds of World War II and the absence of many of the world’s best soccer nations because of political considerations. Sixty years later, France will join Italy and Mexico as the only nations to host the World Cup twice. And again, outside forces might determine how this tournament will be remembered.

Will it come to be known as the most entertaining World Cup ever staged, the tournament when first-time entrants South Africa, Croatia, Jamaica and Japan expanded the world’s soccer frontiers and defending champion Brazil sought an unprecedented fifth title, or merely the most star-crossed tournament because of problems with hooligans or terrorism?

Will it be known for the brilliance of strikers such as Ronaldo of Brazil and Gabriel Batistuta of Argentina, or for the chaos created by strikes by airline pilots, train drivers and road-clogging truckers?

With an estimated 800,000 tourists expected to descend upon the country, labor unrest looms ominously over the 16th World Cup, which runs from Wednesday through July 12.

The threat of terrorism is being taken seriously, and security will be tight at venues and in the 10 host cities. Police on alert for actions by militant groups will have a pervasive presence, and riot squad members will be on duty each day. Hooliganism is also a concern, and undercover police officers have been trained to spot and restrain known offenders and keep them from marauding through city centers.

Salary disputes recently grounded most flights operated by Air France, the state-controlled company that is the tournament’s official airline. Other unhappy labor unions have threatened to delay trains and block roads with angry truck drivers. Already, there have been one-day strikes by train drivers seeking pay hikes, road blockades by truckers also seeking raises and a sit-in at the office of French World Cup organizers conducted by several hundred police officers demanding a bonus for keeping the peace during the World Cup.

Although Air France has promised to transport the 32 teams around the country, travel plans of fans and tourists would be disrupted if the pilots’ pay dispute drags on. More than 1 million fans are expected to travel by train, and if train service is also disrupted or grinds to a halt, a logistical nightmare could result.

If no one in the transport industry is at work, the tournament’s theme, “C’est beau un monde qui joue,”--”The beauty of a world at play,”--would take on an ironic twist.

“I don’t think it will happen,” said Michel Platini, the former French midfield star who is co-president of the French World Cup organizing committee. “And if there was a strike, I’d walk to Saint-Denis.”

Platini’s compatriots haven’t shared his enthusiasm and determination.

Soccer, although entrenched in France, doesn’t inspire the passion it does in countries such as England, Italy, the Netherlands and Germany. Perhaps that’s because the French team has won only one significant international title, the 1984 European championship. As he struggled with the logistics of mounting such an enormous event, Platini acknowledged having difficulty igniting World Cup fever in his homeland. “France hasn’t really understood the importance of the World Cup,” he said.

Its importance, he believes, goes beyond goals and saves. “The World Cup is more than just 64 football matches,” Platini said.

With that in mind, organizers devised an ambitious plan of cultural events to enhance the atmosphere in each host city. The French Ministry of Tourism initiated a campaign dubbed “Bonjour 98, France welcomes the world,” designed to encourage workers in travel-related industries to welcome visitors and emphasize the country’s artistic and cultural attractions.

But it is the competition that is expected to halt the daily routines of soccer fans around the world and attract a total global audience of 37 billion television viewers. Toward that end, almost 10 billion French francs (about $1.67 billion U.S.) in private and public funds have been spent and the French organizing committee budgeted 2.5 billion French francs (about $416 million) for media centers, hospitality villages, accreditation centers and employees.

France 98 will, in many aspects, be conducted on the largest scale ever. A record 172 countries competed for 30 berths during qualifying rounds, with only defending champion Brazil and host France earning automatic berths. The 32 teams will play 64 games over 33 days in 10 cities ranging from Lens in the northeast to Marseille, on the Mediterranean. Each team will play its three first-round matches in different cities, an innovation designed to give players and fans a varied taste of France and allow each city to host two of the eight top-seeded teams in the world.

Many of the stadiums that will be used date to the 1920s and ‘30s but have been renovated to meet modern standards. Most hold only 35,000 to 40,000 fans, ensuring the attendance record of 3,587,538 set at World Cup USA ’94 won’t be equaled.

The relatively small capacity at each stadium also meant the ticket supply of 2.5 million would not satisfy a demand that exceeded 20 million. The shortage and a distribution policy that heavily favored French ticket-buyers over foreigners created an uproar, but French officials saw no need to build big stadiums for the World Cup only to have those stadiums sit empty after the tournament. In addition, the prevailing sentiment was that bigger isn’t necessarily better.

“After the excesses of the 1994 World Cup, in the United States, France intends to give the Mondial 98 a more convivial aspect,” wrote Benoit Hopquin of Le Monde. “Compared with America’s vast stadia, the French grounds will seem quite modest. All the organizers are hoping for is that the festivities will extend beyond the stadium and fill the streets.”

If such stadiums as the 23,500-seat La Mosson in the southern city of Montpellier are modest, the new Stade de France is gargantuan.

Built on the northern outskirts of Paris in the town of Saint-Denis at a cost of 2.8 billion francs (about $466 million), the elliptically shaped stadium has a 13,000-ton roof that will shelter the crowd from the sun or inclement weather but leave the field open to the elements. Site of the opening game, the final and seven matches in between, it will seat 80,000 and is the biggest, Olympic-sized, multi-function stadium in the world.

Paris’ Parc des Princes will also host six matches. It was also scheduled to be the site of a football festival, one of many entertainment events planned during the tournament. The Champ de Mars, near the Eiffel Tower, will be the backdrop for a concert by the three tenors--Placido Domingo, Jose Carreras and Luciano Pavarotti--on Wednesday. And in Saint-Denis, French actors will perform works by writers from countries represented in the tournament.

Other cities are scheduled to stage events that reflect their heritage and customs and incorporate sports and other activities for youngsters.

Nantes, near the Atlantic Ocean, will create a beach in its city center and will devote its biennial photo exhibition to soccer, honoring the great Brazilian star Pele. Toulouse, whose stadium is built on an island separating two branches of the Garonne river, will present a version of water games that have been played in that city since the 18th century.

Lyon, France’s second-largest city and a center of culinary arts, will hold music festivals and unveil a fresco that will honor the 32 participating nations. Marseille will hold a series of concerts, and Bordeaux, renowned for its wine production, on June 30 will hold a hot-air balloon festival that is billed as the biggest ever mounted in France. It will also put on a display of marching bands typical of the region.

All that’s left is to see who prevails: striking workers who paralyze transport or the strikers who wear the uniforms of the 32 participants.