Ten thousand empty plates were displayed at the bottom of the Eiffel Tower in Paris on Saturday morning in an event to mark World Food Day. French non-governmental organisation Action Contre la Faim (Action Against Hunger) organised the event, dubbed the Banquet Against Hunger, in coordination with the European Union, to draw the public's attention to starvation and hunger worldwide. According to Francois Danel, General Director of Action Contre la Faim, "ten-thousand children won't participate in any banquet, they won't have any meal today, October 16th, as they are dying from starvation.

"Ten-thousand children dying from starvation every day means 3.5 (m) million children a year. It is a huge figure and this is unacceptable," Danel added. Similar events to mark World Food Day were being held on Saturday in other French cities. The United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) estimates that the problem of world hunger has reached dramatic levels. Last year, 'the critical threshold of one (b) billion hungry people in the world was reached in part due to soaring food prices and the financial crisis' the FAO reported.