Dubliner Sean O Conaill has just opened an Irish pub in Paris. Nothing unusual in that you might think, given that such enterprises have become one of our greatest exports. However, according to estimates, Sean's pub, The Wild Geese, is around the 50th Irish pub now operating in the French capital. The numbers have been growing over recent decades but in the past few years it seems as if a new Irish pub is opening every few months.

The Irish Ambassador to France, Patrick O'Connor, served in Paris for a few years at the beginning of the 1970s before returning there over four years ago. One of the first things to strike him was the number of Irish pubs that had opened up. "When I left Paris in 1975," he says, "there was not a single Irish pub in Paris. Today there are about 50 - and I'm personally aware of two which have opened in the past three weeks."

Liam Connolly, chairman of the Irish Pub Owners' Association in France, confirms that the number of pubs has "mushroomed". The owner of Connolly's Corner pub said the numbers keep growing.

Why are they so popular? A man well qualified to answer that question is Dermot Toolan, a native of Ballaghadreen, Co Roscommon, who spent eight years managing the well-known Kitty O'Shea's pub in Paris before opening his own bar, Bugsys, just over a year ago with business partner Alan Dundon.

"The French love authenticity," says Dermot Toolan. "They consider that the best champagne is French, the best caviar Russian, the best leather Argentinean and the best pubs Irish. When they come to an Irish pub they want to see an Irish flavour in the staff and the food."

At the Wild Geese, there is even more on offer. The pub runs Irish language courses, mainly attended by French people. Sean and his partners, Tom McDonagh and Aodan O Feinneadha, wanted it to be more than simply a drinking establishment.

"When I came here 10 years ago," says Sean, "the Irish pubs seemed to cater simply for the Irish but now you see more French. Often they're Breton or of Breton origin. They find Irish pubs more friendly than French cafes and like that you can end up chatting to the person sitting beside you."