Paris offers 007 a licence to kill at the Palace of Versailles

A pursuit in the castle park, rowing duel on the Grand Canal and an escape by helicopter from the roofs of the palace are among the few scenes imagined by the Paris communication association that promotes films to convince EON Productions to set up the next James Bond in Versailles. Civil servants in Paris have written a storyline for James Bond expecting that they can persuade producers of the multi-million dollar film franchise to shoot the next 007 film in the Palace of Versailles.

"We want to give the producers some ideas, because it would be great to have James in the magnificent decor of the château," Stéphane Martinet, the deputy director of the Paris region film commission, told The Times.

The aim of the initiative is to show off France's architecture and history to the world, and boost tourist numbers.

But purists were furious when it staged an exhibition by Jeff Koons, the contemporary American artist, in 2008. Now they are incensed by an announcement that the palace would welcome works by Takashi Murakami, the Japanese painter, this autumn.

The final decision will be taken in the future months.

For the 23th James Bond 007, the shooting is in prevision for 2011.