STEVE INSKEEP, Host: We have a report this morning from Eleanor Beardsley.</s>ELEANOR BEARDSLEY: French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde gave the government's new pitch recently on a television channel aimed at Muslims.</s>CHRISTINE LAGARDE: (Through translator) I would like to convince you that London is not your only choice for Islamic investment, but that Paris is also ready to welcome you and any of your clients who are looking for an alternative.</s>ELEANOR BEARDSLEY: But that isn't going over well with some opposition politicians who accused the government of undermining France's much cherished secularism.</s>ELEANOR BEARDSLEY: Unidentified Man: (French spoken)</s>ELEANOR BEARDSLEY: For NPR News, I'm Eleanor Beardsley in Paris.
The French government wants to make Paris the world capital of Islamic investment as it looks for new sources of cash to battle the credit crisis. But even with the economic downturn, the campaign is raising some hackles.