French women have been banned from wearing cosmetics that have not been tested on at least three types of monkey.
Bridgette Bardot joined over a thousand protesters as they linked arms to form a protest ring around the Arc de Triumph, bringing traffic to a standstill. Further demonstrations took place at border crossings and foreign nationals were encouraged to adopt a monkey to help with legal fees.
Ms Bardot, a well known animal activist, spoke to representatives of the swiss cosmetics company at the centre of the dispute. They agreed to see her in private with lawyers acting for the monkeys.
Recent unsuccessful attempts to create artificial simian substitutes have resulted in four cases of outrage in the Pigalle district of Paris.
Michel Paltini refused to comment.
