Europe's nightlife is under threat and Amsterdam is no exception. Restricted opening hours, rent hikes and increased policing are all serving to dampen the party spirit in the Dutch capital. But some revelers are fighting back.

Paris' renowned nightlife is on the brink of death - so many locals say. Last Sunday, musicians, hospitality professionals and nightclub owners in the French capital sounded the alarm over the declining quality of Parisian nightlife by handing over a petition to their mayor. The assembled representatives of the town's party crowd collected 14,000 signatures to support their plea to their fellow Parisians, particularly the ones employed in law enforcement, to be more tolerant of the noise that nocturnal frolicking inevitably entails.

The French daily Le Monde went as far as to dub Paris the "European Capital of Boredom." So much for the City of Lights.

Paris is not the only European city where people are worried about their nightlife. Last summer a grassroots group named Ai!Amsterdam, a pun on the Dutch capital's slogan "I Amsterdam," produced a manifesto that reads like a litany of complaints over city policy towards bars and clubs. In recent years, bars have been fined because their patrons were drinking on a terrace while standing, instead of sitting, as the law dictates. Opening hours are being further restricted, the group claimed. A ban on terrace heating is also under consideration. "Just imagine what would happen if we enjoyed ourselves!" the manifesto sardonically ponders.