The French Connection: Gerard Houllier is the latest link between Birmingham and France

Sep 9 2010 by Matt Lloyd, Birmingham Mail

“There are lots of French restaurants around and few independent ones like us who try to keep an authentic French taste.

“I’m sure he’ll be home from home here.”

And David Hefford, vice-president of the Birmingham Anglo-French Society, said French culture in the city could see a boom if Houllier’s reign was successful.

“Inevitably he will be judged by results and, if his arrival coincides with the club doing well, that might well happen,” he said.

Birmingham has been twinned with Lyon since 1951. The two cities were paired up as part of a post-war twinning programme between European nations to increase peace and harmony. Since then exchange programmes have been set up between universities and colleges.

But Birmingham’s attraction for the French can be traced back to the late 18th century when industrialists from Lyon would travel to the city to see new manufacturing processes as the industrial revolution gathered steam.