Paris comes top in best city poll

PARIS has come top in a national poll of people's favourite French city, with Bordeaux and Toulouse occupying second and third place respectively.

The survey presented respondents with a list of France's 10 most populous towns and asked which they preferred the most. The capital took 52% of the vote.

After Bordeaux and Toulouse, Montpellier came fourth, Lyon fifth, Nantes sixth and Strasbourg in seventh place.

Nice was eighth, Lille ninth and bottom of the top 10 was Marseille, which this year celebrates being named European capital of culture.

The poll did not ask respondents for the reasons behind their choice.

The BVA poll found Paris was more popular with women than men - 55% instead of 48%. Voters on the left of the political spectrum were more keen on Nantes, and those on the right liked Nice.

The study was based on a poll of 6,468 people.