France is en vogue at the moment.

Its parliament has backed gay marriage, "Les Miserables" has taken the movie world by storm, McDonald's is launching the "McCamembert" Burger and David Beckham has jetted in to join the French Revolution at Paris Saint-Germain.

Vive le France? Not so for those earning more than $1.3 million a year, especially after Socialist President Francois Hollande announced he would introduce a top income tax rate of 75%.

It has become a real point of contention, with some -- including top sports stars -- threatening to move abroad.

Renowned actor Gerard Depardieu has already taken up the offer of Russian citizenship, despite France's constitutional court vetoing Hollande's proposal.

But while the plans over taxation are on hold, those involved with the nation's football are worried that their star assets are heading to the United Kingdom and abroad to seek sanctuary.

"What you see is that French football loses good players, all leaving for England, so the Premier League will be above all the other leagues," Marseille manager Elie Baup told reporters.

"In France, because of the financial side, we will have to work on young players or with recruits not well known, and then we'll make them big, and they'll go to England again. We are entering this 'cycle.' "

During the January transfer window, international striker Loic Remy left French title contender Marseille to move to Queens Park Rangers, a club which was bottom of the English Premier League and threatened with relegation.

Even more remarkably in January, no less than five Frenchman made the switch to Newcastle, a move which led to the hanging of the "Tricolor" in the EPL club's canteen.

Lille's Mathieu Debuchy, Montpellier's Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa, Massadio Haidara from Nancy, Toulouse's Moussa Sissoko and Bordeaux's Yoann Gouffran all made the move to the north east of England.

They should feel at home as there's already more than a hint of Gallic flair at St. James' Park, with the wonderfully talented pair of Yohan Cabaye and Hatem Ben Arfa at the club, as well as the likes of Sylvain Marveaux, Gabriel Obertan and Romain Amalfitano.

"I'm not surprised that they want to play there because it's the best league, but I am surprised by just how many French players have gone there at the same time," former Newcastle and France player Didier Domi told CNN.

However, Domi insisted that financial motivation was not the reason for this footballing exodus to Newcastle.

"Tax is not a big factor. The biggest draw is the chance to play in front of packed stadia every week," he said.

"It's the place where all players want to play. When the French players come back to France after a spell in England, they all talk about how great it is.

"It's professional, it has great fans and atmosphere and it's where all the best players are. I loved it at Newcastle. The fans and people of the north east are so friendly and full of warmth."

In the last French election, held in May 2012 -- the French population in London was given the opportunity to vote on the establishment of a parliamentary member for Northern Europe.

There are 120,000 officially registered as living in the British capital, but one of those -- politician Axelle Lemaire -- believes the total is nearer 400,000.

Before winning that parliamentary ballot, as a representative of Hollande's Socialist Party, Lemaire lived and worked in London for 12 years.

"Many people come and go between the two countries thanks to the new transport links and there are a lot of younger people who come to London and move on afterwards," she told CNN.

"I arrived in London 12 years ago and I remember reading the headlines in the newspapers then about how French people were moving for tax reasons.

"But the reality is very different. Even now there is a lot being written about people leaving because of the 75% tax reasons. I've not seen any serious figures supporting this. The reality is very different.

"People come here for a whole variety of reasons: to study, to work, to learn English, for love, for the international dimension of the UK.

"Taxes, at the end, are pretty similar in the two countries, and constitute very rarely a reason to move out.