A MAJOR route in Paris usually teeming with cars was transformed into a beach resort for the summer, in what has been described as one of the first initiatives to rid the area of motor traffic.

The bizarre move was the brainchild of city mayor Bertrand Delanoe, described as a car hater, who closed off the expressway along the right bank of the River Seine.

Artificial beaches at what is called Paris-Plage were created with hundreds of tonnes of imported sand and the usually busy road became home to deckchairs, beach bars, palm trees and what Delanoe called 'gentle traffic' - that is anything without an engine and includes skaters, walkers and cyclists.

The temporary resort closed on August 18. Delanoe has already announced that Paris-Plage is the first stage of a plan to 'reconquer the banks of the Seine and get rid of private motor traffic'.