8:12pm UK, Wednesday August 25, 2004

Paris has been celebrating the 60th anniversary of its liberation from Nazi occupation with a day of military parades and solemn ceremonies.

180 Paris liberation celebrations firefighters

Firefighters at Eiffel Tower

Thousands filled the streets to mark the historic day when the Germans surrendered the French capital.

The ceremonies have been led by President Jacques Chirac and other top officials.

They began when firefighters raised France's tricolor flag at the top of the Eiffel Tower.

It was a poignant homage to their colleagues who performed the same task on August 25, 1944.

The highlight of the day was the replaying of an address by General Charles de Gaulle on liberation day.

Roads were closed to traffic in the centre of Paris and a number of metro stations shut.

The celebrations ended on a lighter note with a 1940s-style dance party at the Place de la Bastille.

Paris was liberated after a week-long struggle led by the French Resistance.

Around 1,000 French died in the fighting as Allied troops bore down on the city after the Normandy invasion.