On a grand scale, most Frenchmen agree, the month-long soccer extravaganza was a smashing success. But now, as accountants begin to tote up the Francs and Centimes, others see it as a mixed blessing.

Although soccer fans came by the hundreds of thousands, the freer spending tourists who normally fill up France each summer stayed away. And Frenchmen sat home by their television sets.

At the same time, official spending soared because of serial mass littering, fighting in the streets and the constant underlying threat of terrorism.

Few figures are available yet, but the evidence is clear.

"Frankly, we expected better," said Yazid Chaboune, manager of Paris Souvenirs, on the Champs Elysees where fans of every team made their headquarters.

"It is simple to understand," he said. "The good clientele,those who come to see Paris and buy souvenirs, won't show up until later. World Cup people only eat and drink. We get nothing."

But restaurateurs and hotel keepers had equal complaints.

"Business is off, probably by more than ten per cent for most of the better places," said Doreen Dempski, manager of the posh Laperouse Restaurant. "We had a few big parties. But that's it."

Laperouse had to cancel a major event for Christian Dior when the haute couture fashion shows were postponed. The pret-a-porter show was moved to New York to avoid clashing with the World Cup.

Bordeaux and Nantes reported minor windfalls, offset by heavy municipal expenditure. Marseille, Lyon and Toulouse saw the same phenomenon as in Paris.

"Football fans are a sandwich and pizza crowd," said Roland Frittoli, owner of Peron, Marseille's oldest eatery. "They live at camping sites and cook their own food. Nothing to earn there."

Many of his regular customers left town or stayed at home, he said. Several large parties booked wellin advance were cancelled.

In human terms, the cost was high.

A 42-year-old Frenchman died from injuries suffered when a woman lost control of her Volkswagen and plowed into the World Cup victory party on the Champs Elysees early Sunday. At least 80 were injured.

A young policeman remains near death in Lille after German neo-Nazis slammed him in the head with a metal bar during a carefully planned bout of violence.

Thousands of injuries, some of them serious, were reported at the ten World Cup venues. Many were from Marseille where local ethnic North Africans and English fans fought pitched battles.

Only time will determine whether France can amortise more than a billion dollars spent on lasting projects, such as the 80,000-seat Stade de France and stadium renovations elsewhere. A more immediate problem is what to do with all the soccer paraphernalia that is growing rapidly obsolete.

Some merchants cleaned up over the past six weeks. Sales of television sets and video recorders doubled. Anyoneoffering beer in bulk or canned-air horns is happy. But they are exceptions.

Rene Faucheux, whose combination sandwich shop and butchery caters to all levels of consumers, was as thrilled as any Frenchman to see a World Cup victory.

But for the rest, he was not impressed. He would have much rather had a normal month, with his regulars and the reliable flow of tourists he sees every year. "The World Cup crowd is terrible," Faucheux said. "They make a mess, lots of noise, scare away normal customers, and spend little."