大象传媒

The invitation comes on the back of the President's reported desire to use the borough as a model for the regeneration of its Paris suburban areas.

And, as the borough celebrates its latest accolade which has seen a local restaurant being awarded the prestigious award of 鈥楤est Local Restaurant鈥� in London what better time to extend a warm welcome to the Sarkozys?听

Le Cassoulet Restaurant

Le Cassoulet has been given the respected award at the Time Out Food & Drink Awards for its 鈥榓ssured French cooking and bonhomie鈥�.

Now taking advantage of renewed interest in the area, the Chief Executive of Croydon Business Brian Stapleton has extended an invitation to Mr Sarkozy and his wife to come and see Croydon first hand, whilst taking lunch at Le Cassoulet.

鈥淲ith Croydon鈥檚 excellent transport links the President (and his wife!) could be in town in less than three hours. Croydon awaits his response and wonders how much further this new Entente Amicable can go鈥�, says Mr Stapleton听听

The Letter in full

鈥淒ear Mr President,

I was delighted to see recently in the British media that you are considering Croydon as a potential role model for the Parisian suburbs.

Certainly the way that Croydon acts as a major business hub in outer London is something to consider. This position has been built on our excellent transport links, in particular - the tram system.

There is more to Croydon than at first meets the eye. Whilst the town centre has a 1960鈥檚 image this is changing and we have a number of world renowned architects involved with building the Croydon of the future.

Outside the town centre 鈥搘e are one of the greenest boroughs in London and have been short listed for a national award for the city category in Britain in Bloom

You can get to Croydon in less than three hours from Paris by Eurostar 鈥搒o perhaps you would like to come for lunch.

May I suggest our excellent French restaurant, Le Cassoulet, which opened in Croydon last year, and has only this week won an award as the best local restaurant in London.

I could then explain how Croydon concept can be successful in the context of a large city such as London or Paris, and how important it is to have such hubs in the suburbs rather than over developing the centre of the city.

Yours sincerely,

Brian Stapleton

PS: Please bring your wife鈥�