Festival's millions prove that China is in fashion in France

After three years of planning and nine months of mutual admiration, France's staging of the Year of China festival has been hailed a record-breaking success.

The cultural exchange attracted a record number of participants for such a programme of event, said Olivier Poivre d'Arvor, director of the French Association for Artistic Action, the French government's cultural arm abroad.

By the time a fireworks display on Friday in the gardens of the Palace of Versailles near Paris ended the cultural exchange, more than 2.5 million visitors had bought tickets to events and thousands more had participated in street parades and exhibitions throughout France.

'China has now become very fashionable here,' Mr Poivre d'Arvor said. 'China does not open up easily, but culture is more important there than in many other places. It provides a very good network of exchanges.'

While the European Union last week dealt a blow to China trade by denying it market-economy status, France still has its eyes on the rapidly growing Chinese economy.

The cultural festival was the brainchild of French President Jacques Chirac and former Chinese premier Jiang Zemin to mark 40 years since France resumed diplomatic relations with China.

The event, which will be reciprocated with a Year of France starting in October in China, has been described as one of the largest exchanges between the two countries.