A Rugby match in the Stade de France

The Stade de France (English translation "Stadium of France " — not used) is a stadium in metropolitan Paris, and the national stadium of France, built for the 1998 Football World Cup.

The stadium replaced the Parc des Princes as the national stadium and has a capacity of about 80,000. The stadium is in the suburb of Saint-Denis, and well served by transport links (RER B etc.). Both the French football team and the French rugby team play there.

The stadium is the centrepiece for Paris' 2012 Summer Olympics bid.

It is important to note that the word "France" in Stade de France does not refer to the country France, but it refers to an area (pays) of the historical province of Île de France known as pays de France. Île-de-France was made up of several pays: pays de France, Parisis, Mantois, Hurepoix, and so on. Pays de France was the vast and extremely fertile plain located immediately north of the city of Paris, with the city of Saint-Denis at its center. Pays de France is now almost entirely built-up, being covered by the northern suburbs of Paris. Pays de France is also known as the plaine de France ("plain of France"), and the name of this old pays still appears in the name of some towns in the northern suburbs of Paris, such as Roissy-en-France (which means "Roissy in the pays de France"). Thus, the name of the stadium was chosen to give it a local touch, as it is located in the plaine de France, but of course most people are not aware of this fact, and assume it is the stadium of the country France.

External links

• Official site
• Stats for all rugby matches played at the Stade de France