Jean PÃÆ'Ã,©nichon, one of the organizers of the Internet event, held last week at la CitÃÆ'Ã,© des sciences et de l'industrie -- France's leading science museum -- said he had his "nose to the grindstone for six days."
"We had some problems with our videoconferencing software, but there were definitely fewer than last year," PÃÆ'Ã,©nichon said.
As for the attendees, "Many of our visitors were senior citizens who'd come to initiate themselves with our computers," he said. "They even fought to reserve the workstations from younger visitors. Those who already knew the Internet mostly came for advice on how to build personal Web pages."
Official support
Backers in high places also mobilized to celebrate the Internet: On March 17 and 18, a group of 19 French senators fielded questions from 450 "Internauts" covering topics ranging from European policy toward France, the elimination of antipersonnel mines and regional planning. The National Assembly threw open its doors over three days to allow 4,000 visitors to learn about new technologies.
Even Swiss singer StÃÆ'Ã,©phane Eicher got into the act, opening a debate on the development of the Internet.
Translation by Matthew Rothenberg, ZDNet News.
In all, 120,000 people came to the museum during the Internet festival. "Between the Paris book fair, the good weather and the opening of bike lanes in the city, you couldn't hope for a better situation," PÃÆ'Ã,©nichon said. Over the weekend, the festival brought in 54,000 visitors, up from 45,000 in 1999.
