During World War II, General de Gaulle commanded the Free French from his London base. Since the turn of the millennium London has once again proved the destination of choice for young French expatriates.
The English now have so great an esteem for the workmanship of the French refugees that nothing vends without a gallic name.Unattributed, 1700
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France and England are geographically so close that travel between the two countries has always been relatively easy. Early English monarchs had strong family links to the French aristocracy.
In 1066 William the Conqueror was crowned King of England in Westminster Abbey. He gave English lands to the new Norman aristocracy and to monastic orders. Several monastic houses linked to overseas religious orders were founded in London.
During the 17th century large numbers of French Huguenots sought asylum in England from religious persecution. By the following century, they had assimilated into the native population. The French Protestant Church in Soho Square attests to their history.
Smaller groups of French Royalists found a temporary home in London following the French Revolution of 1789.
Some French also briefly fled for sanctuary during the Franco-Prussian War and Paris Commune of 1870-71. The Catholic Notre Dame de France Church in Charing Cross, as well as numerous French restaurants and the French House pub, recall their presence.
General de Gaulle, leader of the Free French, was based in London during the Nazi occupation of France in World War II. Together with his staff he maintained French resistance against the Germans throughout the war.
Postwar, Britain drew increasingly closer to the Continent with membership of the European Economic Community (EEC) in 1973 and the European Union (EU) in 1992.
Since the Channel Tunnel opened in 1994, the train journey between Paris and London takes less than two and a half hours.
The French consulate estimates that 300,000 to 400,000 French people currently live in Britain, the vast majority of them in London. Immigration has been especially high since 1999.
Most French migrants are young, single and well qualified, seeking the job opportunities that London offers, especially in the financial sector. London is also home to nearly 2,000 French companies, mostly involved in the financial and business services industries.
Many French expatriates live in South Kensington, base of both the secondary school Lycée Français Charles de Gaulle and French cultural centre the Institut Français, which houses a cinema, library and language centre. The area is also dotted with French-owned cafes and bookshops. The French Embassy is located in nearby Knightsbridge.
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