French president Nicolas Sarkozy looks to Liverpool to inspire regeneration of Paris
French President Nicolas Sarkozy is looking to Liverpool for inspiration for a major regeneration of Paris.
The Gallic premier is pushing ahead with ambitious plans to extend the capital all the way to the northern port of Le Havre.
A report commissioned by the French government highlights Liverpool as a leading example of how a city can reinvent itself as a major financial and commercial city.
Council leaders said they were delighted the French had recognised the fantastic way Liverpool had risen from the ashes thanks to large-scale investment from the Government.
The report lauded how Liverpool had become the “second financial city” in the UK thanks to its three quality universities, infrastructure and cultural heritage.
Liverpool’s civic leaders are to invite Mr Sarkozy to visit the city and see for himself when he next visits the UK.
In the report, Paris By The Sea, by leading French economist Jacques Attali, the French government was warned Paris faced becoming “irrelevant”, a landlocked “museum city” unless it included the Normandy sea port, 100 miles north of the city.
It read: “Other cities in other parts of the world have managed to ride historic turning points back on to the front of the stage.
“Liverpool, like Le Havre, was a major port . . . in the days when transatlantic passengers could rub shoulders with F Scott Fitzgerald and Henry James.
“Then, like Le Havre, the city was ravaged by war.
“Today, though, the city of The Beatles has become the second financial centre of England thanks to its three universities, its infrastructure and its cultural diversity.”
Cllr Malcolm Kennedy, Liverpool council cabinet member for regeneration and transport, said: “We are delighted that Paris is taking the lead from Liverpool as to how a city can regenerate itself with the right investment.
“When President Sarkozy next visits the UK, we would happily invite him to show him some of the great things the city has achieved.”
More than 200 major developments and regeneration projects worth around £3.3bn,Šhave been completed in Liverpool since 2000.
They created more than 10,000 jobs.
Approximately 12% of the city centre’s land and buildings were developed in the last 10 years.
Most recently, major projects like the billion-pound Liverpool One shopping development, the £150m Arena and Convention Centre and the £20m cruise-liner terminal have redrawn the waterfront landscape.
Council leader Cllr Joe Anderson added: “If ever proof were needed that Liverpool is one of the great cities of the world, the fact that Paris knows it can learn a thing or two from Liverpool is it.”
This year will see the beginning of work on the £50m rebuilding of Liverpool’s central library, in St John’s Gardens.
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