Le Carnaval du Dunquerque, Lille, France Courtesy of Vidyun Rathore

There’s a time in the year where men paint their faces, pull on brightly coloured stockings, bizarre wigs, jewellery and clothes borrowed from grandmothers. It's not some cross-dressing competition, but a carnival - ‘le Carnaval de Dunkerque’, which occurs every February in a coastal town close to Lille. Even the ladies don bizarre outfits. Everyone joins the parade dancing across town, singing traditional tunes, carrying colourful umbrellas to catch fish thrown by the Mayor from his office.