Town honours historical gridlock with big traffic jam

If you went down to one town in north-eastern France at the weekend, you would have been sure of a big surprise - a traffic jam of classic cars.

For several years, the medieval town of Arnay-le-Duc in the Côte-d'Or has paid slightly ironic tribute to a major route in France - the Nationale 6 - by organising a gros embouteillage, or 'big traffic jam'.

This year, nearly 200 vehicles, of all kinds and from different periods, took part in the event, snarling up the local traffic system for some time.

Until 2006, the "Nationale 6" was one of the main French national arterial routes, linking Paris to Italy (down the Mont Cenis pass) via Lyon and Savoie. It was a popular route for Parisians heading south for their holidays.

The event 'honours' the summer jams that gridlocked the medieval town every summer.