In the 1980s and early 1990s there was a trend for foreigners buying properties in the French capital, but this has slowed in recent years. Thanks to these reforms - and the new high-speed train service from London St Pancras - this trend looks set to be rekindled.
House prices in Paris rose 9.9% last year. They are now slowing but the city is regaining its lost prestige.
According to the Paris Chamber of Notaries, the proportion of flats in the French capital bought by foreigners rose from 5.2% in 1996, to 8.2% in 2006. British homebuyers represented 5% of foreign purchasers five years, but now account for a huge 10.8%, having bought 279 Parisian properties over the past 12 months.
