PARIS -- Francois Mitterrand will go down in French history as the president who revamped the official Elysee palace and immortalized the job by selling off replicas of the made-over suites in downtown department stores.
Irked by the slightly tawdry look of the Elysee's upstairs private apartments, Mitterrand commissioned five young French decorators to give the stately 18th century palace an updated futuristic look.
With a Socialist-inspired flourish, the president then decided to mass produce copies of the newly created decor as part of a bid to revive the ailing French furniture industry.
The redecorated living-room, daubed in gray from wall to wall and floor to ceiling, will feature a convertible sofa bed.
Not that the palace is expecting surprise guests, decorators said, but simply because Ronald Cecil Sportes ultra-modern design should prove a best seller in stores.
A masterpiece by the same designer is to be a 'tabernacle of information,' a two-tiered, dome-topped radio-television-video console that resembles the R2D2 robot of 'Star Wars.'
Jean-Michel Wilmotte, appointed decorator of the presidential bedroom, pointed to its gray flannel bedspread and woolen drapes as an illustration of 'the art of the commoner.'
At Mitterrand's special request, the chamber also holds a fireplace and shelves for 500 books.
The room allotted to the president's wife, Daniele, was designed by Philippe Starck, a well-known French discotheque decorator.
An 'ergonomic' chair, built to be knelt on rather than sat on, gives the sitter -- or kneeler -- 'a dignified position ... worthy of the great men of the world,' Starck said.
With novelties of this sort to his credit, Mitterrand, a known culture buff, is sure to be remembered as a patron of the decorative arts who left his own imprint on the palace, as did Madame de Pompadour or Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte.
He follows a trend started by former president Georges Pompidou, who was honored with a huge futuristic art gallery for his love and promotion of modern art.
In 1972, Pompidou installed modern furniture and paintings in the Elysee. Most of it was promptly removed by his successor, former president Valery Giscard d'Estaing.
Mitterrand's double-pronged plan for refurbishing the prestigious downtown palace and promoting modern French furniture design was a personal endeavor and designed around his personal tastes.
Presidential aides say he and his wife pored over architectural drawings, scrutinizing every detail before approval. They sat through four lengthy meetings with designers to plan and adjust the project.
But Mitterrand's personal touch will not alter the president's staunch refusal to reside in the sumptuous palace just off the Champs Elysees rather than in the warmth of his own Latin Quarter home, officials said.
The redone presidential apartments will be used primarily for foreign guests with mass production of the furniture replicas due to begin in 1984.
There were no estimates available on the decorating costs.
