Every evening when darkness sets in, the Eiffel Tower sparkles like a crystal.  There are thousands of strobes on the tower and they are flashed at random for ten minutes each hour-on-the-hour.  It is truly an ooh-and-aah experience.  Everyone, it seems, loves Paris when it twinkles.

Notice that the tower sports an overall blue cast and a ring of eleven stars on its lower section, the symbol of the European Union.  This year the presidency of the EU falls to France and they're very pleased over the fact.  Even the Palais Royale with its glass ceiling is lit blue from the inside.