Britain | The French community in London

Paris-on-Thames

The French influx to London suggests what governments can and can’t do to boost their cities’ allure

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ONCE the quintessence of Englishness—it has Etonian board members, and emerged 125 years ago from the royal armaments factory—Arsenal Football Club has been coached by Arsène Wenger, a Frenchman, since 1996. The north London team usually fields more French players than English ones. The Eurostar trains to and from Paris even zoom past the club's Emirates Stadium, a corner of Islington that is forever France.

This article appeared in the Britain section of the print edition under the headline "Paris-on-Thames"

Blood and oil

From the February 26th 2011 edition

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