There are about a third of a million French living in London who bring back stories of the British capital's booming restaurant scene and culinary diversity - Indian food in particular - that much of France lacks.

BBC: Is France learning to love British food?

Success often means wringing as much as possible from inadequate capital assets: the British public sector, argues Tony Travers of the London School of Economics, is typically trying to deliver continental European levels of service with American levels of tax.

ECONOMIST: The pay is better than it was. The bureaucracy is worse

The opening ceremony for the London Games is later this month on July 27, the British capital the first city to host the Summer Olympics three times.

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And British prime minister Gordon Brown, for example, has declared he intends to make London the Islamic finance capital of the world.

CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: Shariah's Trojan horse