Party time as France cracks into this year's Beaujolais Nouveau

Several thousand wine lovers party into the night as France celebrates the arrival of this year's Beaujolais Nouveau with a festival in Beaujeu, the wine-making region's ancient capital. Once derided as unfashionable, Beaujolais's wines are becoming increasingly hip again for their unpretentious side and easy drinking qualities. "Beaujolais isn't an old person's wine… I think it's a wine for celebrating and having a good time together," one festival-goer tells AFP.