AN artist has launched a campaign to twin a suburb of Scotland’s largest city with Paris’s most famous quarter.

Frank McNab, a painter, has written to the mayor of Montmartre, the 18th arrondissement in Paris, with the proposal for a twinning arrangement with Thornwood in the west end of Glasgow.

McNab, who is acting chair of the Thornwood Community Council, put the proposal to Eric Lejoindre after getting the support of residents of his area.

“I am the Chairman of Thornwood Community Council in Thornwood, Glasgow. It is a relatively poor area, mostly comprising of working folk. Our area in Glasgow is presently trying to raise its profile with cafes and little galleries in an effort to establish itself as a thriving creative area in the city,” McNab told the French mayor.

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“At a recent meeting it was agreed that I should approach you with the request that we might consider our area “twinned” with Montmartre and publicise it as such.

“This, of course, would be extremely helpful to us. Would this be acceptable? Is there a formal procedure we must follow?

“Myself and the people of Thornwood look forward to your consideration and reply.”

McNab drew attention to some similarities between Montmartre and Thornwood, with the two suburbs built on a hill, attracting residents from the creative industries and a growing cafe culture.

He told The National: “The inclines of Thornwood Avenue and the surrounding streets and lanes replicate the climbs of the Rue Ravignon and Rue Gabrielle.

“The number of small cafes, galleries, and creative outlets in Thornwood is now growing rapidly and, even in the unreliable Glasgow climate, people can be seen sitting at pavement tables enjoying each other’s company.”

He added: “I see a benefit for both of these city districts. Thornwood’s artistic credentials are of the highest order – and I hear that Montmartre’s are fairly persuasive too.”

McNab said he was confident that Lejoindre will look upon Thornwood’s approach for twinning favourably.

He said: “I believe that Mayor Lejoindre is a man of vision and will immediately recognise this initiative to be an opportunity to connect two areas with common aspirations.”

Montmartre is a large hill in Paris’s 18th arrondissement and gives its name to the surrounding district, part of the Right Bank in the northern section of the city.

It is primarily known for its artistic history, the white-domed Basilica of the Sacré-Cœur on its summit, and as a nightclub district.

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Near the end of the 19th century and at the beginning of the 20th, during the Belle Époque, many artists lived, worked or had studios in or around Montmartre.

They included Amedeo Modigliani, Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Edgar Degas, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Suzanne Valadon, Piet Mondrian, Pablo Picasso, Camille Pissarro, and Vincent van Gogh.

Montmartre is also the setting for several hit films including Amélie, starring Audrey Tatou, which was released in 2001, and Woody Allen’s Midnight in Paris, released in 2011.