This is a new one me - you'll have heard of Jerusalem syndrome where tourists become psychotic and some come to believe that they're Jesus Christ. Well, there's also a Paris syndrome!

It affects mainly Japanese visitors to the capital, and in 2006 4 Japanese nationals had to be repatriated, accompanied by a doctor or nurse on the way home. There is a wide range of symptoms associated with it, including palpitations and hallucinations, and tends to affect women in their 30s.

It's believed that contributory factors can be an over-romanticised Amelie-type vision of Paris that doesn't live up to expectations, language difficulties, cultural differences in encounters with sales people, taxi drivers or waiters - not trained in the over-polite, customer is always right way the Japanese are accustomed to. Exhaustion and jet-lag are also thought to be factors.