Dunkirk’s annual carnival embraces madness and merriment

France's northern seaside city of Dunkirk is revelling in its increasingly popular annual carnival where tens of thousands dress up in eccentric outfits, dance in the streets and catch herrings outside the town hall.

Revellers with painted faces, many sporting tall umbrellas, fur coats and colourful hats adorned with pheasant feathers, on Feb. 11 sang songs at the top of their lungs under a grey sky.

The carnival is becoming an increasingly popular attraction in Dunkirk, a city just west of the Belgian border best known to foreigners as the site of the 1940 evacuations of Allied soldiers in World War II.

"Carnival is a religion, it's a communion. Everyone keeps in step. Everyone has fun," a man who gave his name as Laurent told AFP, as chanting participants streamed past behind him.

Crowds jostled under the balcony of the mayor's office, trying to catch the 500 kilograms worth of smoked herrings that municipal workers tossed down below.

Demanding the herring they merit is a tradition upheld by the locals. A real struggle occurs as the crowd looks to snag their own herring.

The carnival is said to date back to the 17th Century, first mention in 1676, originally a warm send-off for local fisherman about to embark on six-month long sea trips to catch cod off the coast of Iceland. Ship-owners would offer a "Foye", a grand party before the fishermen's departure.

The herring throwing was introduced by the city's merchants in the 1960s.

In the present day, the festivities may take place from January to March, comprising of parades on weekend days in Dunkirk and nearby villages. 

The carnival takes place on the "Three Joyful Days," the Sunday, Monday and Tuesday preceding Ash Wednesday, a Christian holiday of...