Paris parties all night

The city was illuminated by monuments and buildings bathed in colour

One million residents in the French capital Paris have had a sleepless night - but they were not complaining as they packed the streets for an all-night arts festival.

For the second year running, Mayor of Paris Bertrand Delanoe threw open the doors of museums, galleries and other attractions for an all night extravaganza dubbed the Nuit Blanche - or White Night.

Festival-goers were able to choose from a wide range of activities such as soaking up a spot of culture at the world famous Louvre museum, or having a soak in one of the city's public swimming pools, accompanied by coloured lights and music.

Last year's inaugural Nuit Blanche was marred by a knife attack on Mr Delanoe by a mentally disturbed man, but the event proved such a hit that as well as being repeated this year it was also copied by Brussels and Rome.

The popular mayor is determined to turn Paris into a playground

However, Rome's Notte Bianca ended in chaos when huge power cuts brought the city to a standstill.

Mr Delanoe, who had to spend six weeks recovering from his stab wounds, says he is determined to make city life more palatable for residents and tourists alike.

He is the man who brought the capital the hugely popular Paris Plage - where the banks of the Seine are transformed into a beach, complete with white sands and palm trees throughout the summer months.

Eclectic appeal

Long queues of people eager to party until dawn formed outside the more than 100 attractions taking part in the Nuit Blanche.

Jostling for attention alongside traditional crowd pullers such as the Louvre, Pompidou Centre and Montmartre Museum were light sculptures and smoke pictures.

The nocturnal party is expected to become an annual event

The city became bathed in light as monuments and building facades were illuminated. Even the city's municipal electronic message boards were pressed into action - carrying thought provoking messages or visual art and interactive videos.

The authorities tried to cater for all tastes, offering everything from techno dance parties in museums to jazz and classical concerts

Breakfast boost

For the less energetic there were book and poetry readings on offer.

And, if all of that culture stimulated an appetite, free breakfasts were on offer outside the city's town hall on Sunday morning.

In order to ensure the event went smoothly, extra police were deployed across the city, supplementary buses supplied and electronic billboards installed to inform queuing people how long they could expect to wait at each attraction.

It looks like the nocturnal knees-up is set to become a regular event.

"We hope it will go on year after year," said Christophe Girard, the head of cultural affairs at Paris Town Hall.