This Europe: Life's a beach by the river Seine

Yesterday Paris became a palm-fringed beach resort. Sun cream and shades at the ready, tides of Parisians and tourists made their way to the urban motorway on the right bank of the Seine, which has been closed and converted into a beach resort until 18 August.

In-line skaters, babies in buggies and irate cyclists ringing their bells made their way along the quays, looking for the promised sand and palm trees. There was a knot-tying workshop, an area for wall-climbing, makeshift cafés and a handful of fishermen being harassed by youngsters using a toy motorboat.

But there was little sign of the promised "Paris Plage" – just a strip of 80 palm trees in pots, a hundred or so parasols, and a few truck-loads of sand. It was more like a giant children's sand pit than a beach.

One passer-by muttered: "What a lot of fuss about nothing". After mixed reactions last summer to his decision to ban cars from the eastbound fast track along the Seine, the Paris Mayor, Bertrand Delanoe, has gone for broke this year.

At a cost of £1m, the town hall has turned a two-and-a-half mile stretch of the two-lane Voie Georges Pompidou, from the Tuileries to the Ile St Louis, into Paris's riviera.

"We want to offer something nice to people who love the Seine and for Parisians who are not going away on holiday," Mr Delanoe said.

The problem yesterday was that Mr Delanoe's plage was invaded by cyclists and pedestrians as much as strollers and sunbathers. Day-trippers had to dodge them to avoid collisions. And where was all the sand? The first "beach" area was more grassy than sandy.

Few were brave enough to bare all and the narrowness of the beaches forced sunbathers to line up their loungers, making them resemble fish on a slab.