An English Man In Paris, Le Figaro - House finder

Because it’s clear that France in general and Paris in particular is attracting more and more Brits.

And as we sometimes forget, they are not all English. We are doing more and more business with the subjects of Her Gracious Majesty. The charm is hard at work, despite the euro’s rise and rise. In Paris, the Sixteenth arrondissement is a favourite spot, along with such nearby towns as Neuilly and Boulogne.

And more generally West Paris, Versailles and Saint-Germain. A special feature of these buyers is that they are all looking for prestige properties.

They have even become homeowners in France while renting a “pied-à-terre” in the old country.

Since Paris is not France, and now that France has halved travel time through its high-speed rail lines, plenty of Brits have understood that a house 400 kilometres from Paris is less than two hours from the capital.

Add in low cost airlines, and our British friends have woven a regular coat of mail across the land - much more agreeable than the slings and arrows of the archers in the Hundred Years' War.

In fact, it is amusing to see that the Aquitaine region (Eleanor was Queen of England) has always been a strong attractor. So back to the land of the glorious ancestors.

But this time, with entente cordiale all down the line.