LES CATCHEURS

In France professional wrestling is called 'le catch' and, largely because of such flamboyant 'catcheuses' and 'catcheurs' as The Pantheress (below) and Beautiful Bobby Duranton (with his valet Firmin, right), it has caught on. In Paris alone there are seven wrestling arenas where, amid predictable showers of tomatoes, guaranteed riots and flailing handbags, pure and honest spirits flatten black hearts in Gallic morality plays.

Kamamikaze, The Suicidal Jap (right), is a baddy. The White Angel (left) is a good one. When the Angel removed his mask for the first time in Paris, middle-aged women wept. Carried away, the Angel unmasked all over France to diminishing tears. Said one annoyed fan: "It isn't a sport anymore, it's a striptease."

FOUR PHOTOS

ROBERT DOISNEAU