A B C D
E F G H
Stade de France: 80,000 seats, 6,000 parking places
PARIS (AP) -- The French sports minister is warning World Cup soccer fans coming to Paris's newly built Stade de France to leave their cars behind.The 80,000-seat colossus, constructed to be the crowning venue of next year's tournament, has only 6,000 parking places.
"The people who come by car to the Stade de France won't make it to the World Cup matches' half-times," Sports Minister Marie-George Buffet said Wednesday.
The stadium, built on a former patch of abandoned industrial sites in the suburb of Saint-Denis, is close to three subway stations and several bus stops. The Paris transit authority has said it will reduce its round-trip tickets to matches at the stadium, one of 10 venues countrywide.
Prime Minister Lionel Jospin, who attended the World Cup draw last week in Marseille, has said all his ministers would show up at World Cup matches -- and arrive by public transport.
The French national soccer team will inaugurate the stadium with a match against Spain in January, and the stadium will host the opening match of the World Cup on June 10: Brazil vs. Scotland.
NEXT ROUNDS: Round of 16 || Quarter-finals || Semi-finals
GROUP A: Brazil, Morocco, Norway, Scotland
GROUP B: Austria, Cameroon, Chile, Italy
GROUP C: Denmark, France, Saudi Arabia, South Africa
GROUP D: Bulgaria, Nigeria, Paraguay, Spain
GROUP E: Belgium, Holland, Mexico, South Korea
GROUP F: Germany, Iran, United States, Yugoslavia
GROUP G: Colombia, England, Romania, Tunisia
GROUP H: Argentina, Croatia, Jamaica, Japan