When Frank Jackson was a student he fell in love with a French girl. When she returned home to Bordeaux he wrote her a letter every day for a year and a half. One day he joined her there and remembers that, on his arrival in the French city, one of the first out to greet him was the local postman.

That was nearly 20 years ago. The young student is now his wife Christine and the couple have three children. His love for France remains strong, although he has maintained his "Irishness" over the years through organising events and being active in the Irish community. Last year he established the Bordeaux Irish Festival.

"I love France for all sorts of reasons," says Frank, who was born on the Antrim Road in Belfast. "The quality of life is great here. It's also a very good place to be Irish."

One of the things he did miss was Irish people but a few years ago Christine suggested that he might as well open an Irish pub since he spent so much time involved in Irish events. "It was a way of bringing Ireland to me and it has worked," he says.

While there are Irish people living all over France, the biggest concentration is in Paris. According to estimates, the numbers have grown from around 500 in the 1970s to around 10,000 today in the Paris region and around 15,000 in France overall.

Patrick Shelley moved to the French capital three years ago. Moving from a job in the commodities sector in Russia to the luxury goods sector in Paris was quite a shock to his system. Patrick, from Kilsheelan near Clonmel, Co Tipperary, is now a regional manager for central and eastern Europe with Moet Hennessy.

"Paris was certainly a shock," says Patrick Shelley. "Life is hectic here. People are expressive but honest and the system, although bureaucratic, does work. Paris is like an island in the middle of France - the two are worlds apart. I love the city, the pace of life here is addictive."

What Tara McCarthy loves about France is "the mixture of everything all in one country from the sophistication of Paris to the Celticness of Brittany to the exotic south."

The manager of Bord Bia in Paris, Tara McCarthy loves living in the city. "On a Sunday, for instance, there is the choice of everything from rollerblading down the quays, visiting a chateau or any number of museums." Tara McCarthy is from Clonakilty, Co Cork.

The previous foreign posting for Irish diplomat James McIntyre was New York. How does Paris compare? "Excellently! I was delighted to have the opportunity to live here. Paris is so rich in culture and heritage - you get a very strong sense of that when you are here."

Living there over a year it has struck James McIntyre, who is first secretary at the Irish embassy, how proud all French people are of Paris. "They see it as their capital and are quite proud that money is spent on keeping it magnificent," he says. "I'm not sure that everyone in Ireland takes the same pride in Dublin."

Love brought Hilary Staunton to Paris from Dun Laoghaire 20 years ago. The publisher of the monthly Irish Eyes magazine said that a lot has changed in the time since he moved and married his French wife, Gael. "Most of us knew each other back then but there are thousands of Irish here now," he says. "Because of the economy back home, many have returned recently but there are still a lot left."

He first fell in love with France on a school trip when he was 13 years old. "I was seduced by it. I fantasised about living here. I love the way of life, the food is great and the weather is not too bad."

He acknowledges the somewhat legendary rudeness of some Parisians. "People say they are not friendly and that is probably the case - but it is stressful living in a city this size. I think I'm a bit like them now and find myself driving aggressively."