Pop idol Prince seeks pied a terre in France

Enigmatic funk-rocker Prince, whose hits include Purple Rain, 1999 and Gett Off, is setting his sights on a place in France.   

"I want to live in France," the 52-year old artist told newspaper Le Parisien in an interview published on Thursday. 

The prolific artist, who once changed his name to an unpronounceable symbol, is currently based at his Paisley Park complex in Minnesota in the US, but he told the paper that was more of a business base.

Prince, who will stage two concerts in France this summer, has made no secret of his love for the country, where he regularly plays to packed venues. 

Just last week, he made an impromptu appearance alongside Stevie Wonder at a concert in Paris.                                            

"If Stevie's playing and he knows I''m not far away, he always calls me up to invite me along," the singer, producer, musician and lyricist said at the Roskilde music festival in Denmark.                                          

Prince's next album entitled '20ten', to be distributed through newspapers in Europe, will reflect a personal diary of the year, he said.  

"I'm writing a lot at the moment ... I'm going through a very creative phase," Prince said.  

His harmonica player also told the Paris daily that Prince loved French culture and was a big fan of actress Marion Cotillard and the film "La Vie en Rose", in which she played singer Edith Piaf.