Kevin Connolly reports from Paris on how Churchill is viewed in France

French sculptor Jean Cardot is this week putting the finishing touches to the 10ft high (3.2m) statue.

Several newspapers provided free space for the adverts

When the Queen unveils the giant bronze statue on 11 November - the 80th anniversary of the armistice which ended World War I - Churchill will become one of the few foreigners to have his likeness on display in Paris.

Money has been found

Some British newspapers have controversially claiming that the French have been less than enthusiastic in funding the statue.

Expatriate businessman Brian Reeve: "This is my life's work"

They point out that Londoners erected a statue of Charles de Gaulle decades ago and raised the money within months.

But Brian Reeve, the expatriate businessman who dreamed up the idea, told the BBC's Paris Correspondent, Kevin Connolly, that the statue cost £250,000 and said they had all the money they needed.

Donations have been sought through advertisements in a number of French newspapers.

These adverts - many of which have been donated free of charge by French newspapers - are still being run but Mr Reeve says this does not mean there is a shortfall.

Large and small donations

Brian Reeve...culmination of a dream

He says he had received 3,000 donations, ranging from 20 to 200,000 francs (£20,000) with the Paris city hall also donating money.

The monolith - which depicts Churchill striding along purposefully as seen in a thousand Pathé newsreels - is currently waiting in a wood at Saint-Remy-les-Chevreuse, 40 miles (60 kms) west of Paris.

Mr Cardot said: "I wanted to show Churchill's strength, his determination, and also his humour.

"This is a man on the move, a man who won't stop."

Mr Cardot said the likeness was based on a picture of Churchill, wearing an air force uniform, walking through liberated Paris with de Gaulle in November 1944.

The statue - which weighs two-and-a-half tonnes - will be erected near the Champs Elysees, close to the Eiffel tower.

Lion-hearted bulldog

Churchill, known as "The Lion" in France, will stand next to Georges Clemenceau, the French Prime Minister during World War I, who was known as "The Tiger".

Churchill in famous pose

Churchill's plinth will bear the immortal words: "We shall never surrender."

Mr Reeve, 62, said: "This is a message for the young generations.

"As a child I suffered the Blitz in London and I have vivid memories of Churchill walking the streets. He brought us courage. Even as kids we were very, very, very impressed."

Mr Reeve said he had received encouragement from the French President Jacques Chirac - himself a Gaullist - in 1993 when he was Mayor of Paris.

Not all are in favour

He said there had been many touching letters of endorsement as well as a few anonymous letters of criticism.

Churchill remains a figure of hate for a minority of the French population.

They find it hard to forget his decision to scuttle the Vichy French fleet in Tunisia rather than let it fall into the hands of the Nazis.

He is also remembered for ordering Allied bombing of occupied France, which led to many French deaths.