Growing numbers of French people are embracing the liberté of nudism, not just on beaches but also for activities from yoga, singing and gym classes to bowling tournaments and trampolining.

Organisers of nudist events say they are massively oversubscribed. When the Palais de Tokyo museum held a nude session of an art exhibition in May, some 30,000 people requested tickets, although only 161 were available.

Vincent, a teacher who attended the event, said: “I very much liked the confrontation between our vulnerable bodies and the Japanese armour, representing war and barbarity.”

With young people taking part, other participants said it had helped to change nudism’s somewhat dated image as a practice mainly favoured by middle-aged or older people in France.

In fact, the number of French nudists has risen by more than half in the past four years. The country now has an estimated 2.7 million nudists, or naturists as they prefer to be known, according to the French Naturism Federation.