But over-enthusiastic Parisians have received a stark warning from local police after taking off a little too much in the city's recreation areas.

Authorities say city dwellers could face jail for sunbathing topless in parks or on riverbanks, specifying that there should be ‘no breasts or private parts’ on display.

Sun-seekers wearing 'inappropriate dress' could be fined upwards of 38 euros (£33), and 'fined up to 3,750 euros (£3,000) and two years in jail if suspected of soliciting sex,' according to a message on Paris' police website.

The banks of the River Seine are popular during the summer, when some of the roads beside the waterway are closed to traffic and a beach is created, complete with sun loungers and palm trees.

But revellers have been told: 'When the thermometer rises a few degrees, you may put on your best bathing suit and find a little corner of grass or the welcoming banks of the Seine to put down your towel.

'But please note that bathing suits should not be worn in official city parks and that dress should be decent and in accordance with good morals and public order.'

The website adds: 'Any outfit that allows for the genital area or breasts to be seen constitutes sexual exhibition and is punishable by a year in prison.'

According to the Telegraph, while topless sunbathing or nudity is permitted on many beaches in France, the practice is not allowed on the banks of the Seine.