Drones put on show over Champs-Elysee in high-tech festival

PARIS – The Champs-Elysee was the setting of a mini-air show on Sunday as amateur drone enthusiasts flew their high-tech toys over the famed Paris avenue in the city's first festival celebrating the gadgets. Concentrating intently, punters guided their remote-controlled flying machines through a brightly colored obstacle course accompanied by commentary worthy of a Formula One race. The afternoon festival included a race and demonstrations of the remote-controlled devices that are increasingly used as toys as well as for surveillance, aerial photography and -- controversially-- in the secretive U.S. counterterror campaign. "It's really magical to be at a site like the Champs-Elysees, one of the most famous places in the world," said Dunkan Bossian, 19, one of eight pilots who competed in the race. A German entrant, 27-year-old Julia Muller, added: "Events like this are important to show people that drones are not only dangerous things but you can have fun with them as well."