The state employment agency in Paris confirmed the man had been registered at the centre in Nantes and said he had no longer been entitled to benefit.

BBC: map

At Search Bank, a Beijing employment agency, Hai Yuen points out that, whereas the value of compensation packages for expat executives has been shrinking over the past ten years, the number of Chinese-speaking foreigners she handles has been rising.

ECONOMIST: The craze for teaching Chinese may be a misguided fad