World: Levy gambles with Marcel's untried managers.

Fred and Farid must overcome the inherent conservatism of French advertising if the hotshop is to succeed.

Confidence in France's economic improvement may be proving as ephemeral as the spring blossom on the Paris boulevards. Yet there is evidence to suggest that the capital city is regaining some of its appeal as a place where business can be won and creative reputations enhanced.

Tellingly, M&C Saatchi picked Paris to begin its foray into Europe. Why?

Because the market is growing, new players have been few and the big French agencies have had it their own way for too long, Nick Hurrell, M&C Saatchi's European chairman, says.

Nobody in France has lorded it over everybody more than Publicis Groupe.

But even at the Champs Elysees HQ of the world's fourth-largest communications company, there is growing disquiet that the changing climate is allowing hungry young rivals to steal its lunch.

That is why Maurice Levy, the Publicis Groupe chairman, has brought an end to the foreign exile of two of the country's most talked-about creatives.