Usually at this time of the year, a galaxy of film stars would be strolling along the fabled Croisette promenade in the southern French city of Cannes, as photographers hunt out celebrities ahead of the famous film festival.
But with France still locked down to combat the coronavirus pandemic, it was a lone wild boar that grabbed the limelight this weekend by trotting down the famous esplanade on the shores of the Mediterranean, police said.
The young animal, weighing around 50kg, was spotted by a police patrol overnight on Saturday to Sunday strolling down the deserted Croisette, said local police chief Yves Daros.
To ensure there was no risk to the public from the wild boar – which have been known to cause injuries – police escorted the animal through the city as it snouted its way past the luxury boutiques.
It finally went into the forest at the bottom of a hill from where it had likely emerged, the police added.
Daros said he could not recall any other example of a wild boar on the Croisette.
The annual showcase of film was to have begun on Tuesday but the festival was first postponed and then shelved indefinitely due to the virus.
From herds of wild sika deer in streets in Japan to packs of jackals congregating in Tel Aviv in Israel, the global lockdowns have prompted a spike in reports of animals flocking to the centre of densely-packed cites.
France eased its lockdown on Monday, although a host of restrictions remain in place.