The sheer size of the United States, and Hong Kong’s traditional ties to Britain, mean that there are still about 10 times as many Americans and many more Britons than French in the city, which is a special administrative region of China. But the number of American and British residents is rising only slowly: it has increased less than 10 percent since late 2006. The German community has stayed more or less flat.

Image Credit... The New York Times

The French influx can be heard, seen and felt all over the city. Walk through the bar districts or high-end shopping malls of Hong Kong, and it is likely you will encounter passers-by speaking French — much more likely than it would have been two or three years ago. The French international school is bursting. French-run restaurants have multiplied.

Pastis, a small restaurant in the Central district of Hong Kong, has been a favored hangout for French expats since it opened in late 2009. At least two more French restaurants have opened in just the past few months. There is even a cafe with three dusty courts for boules, a lawn game popular in France, incongruously tucked away in a basement on Hong Kong island.

Hong Kong’s appeal to shoppers from neighboring China, who benefit from the city’s lower taxes on many goods, makes Hong Kong a key location for anyone catering to Chinese consumers. It has also helped ensure that the French community in Hong Kong is one of the largest in Asia.

“Asia in general, and China in particular, is booming,” said Arnaud Barthélémy, the consul general of France in Hong Kong. French “companies derive their growth from this region,” he said, noting that many have subsidiaries or regional headquarters in the city.

Fanny Duguet is a case in point. She moved here with her husband and two young children last August, dispatched by her employer Richemont, the luxury goods giant, to help with the company’s expansion in the region.