About 5,000 protestors were in Paris

The company's French owners, Alstom, have said they will stop building trains at the Washwood Heath factory after a contract to make tilting "Pendolino" trains for Virgin ends next July.

Up to 1,400 jobs could be lost as a result.

A group of about 50 workers were in the French capital on Wednesday, alongside about 5,000 campaigners from across Europe.

'Tremendous view'

Many of those gathered were Alstom employees from France and Germany, who were protesting over a lack of information and consultation rights.

Craig Davies, who has worked at Washwood Heath for seven years, said he found Alstom's decision hard to understand.

"Why is it always Britain that loses job? Why is it us? Is it because it's easy?"

Carl Chinn, a campaigner against the proposals to close Washwood Heath, said: "It's a tremendous view here because we've got French, Spanish, German workers - people from across Europe.

We want to show them that we can build trains and hope to build trains in the future Tom Keogh, Amicus

"And they're in the heart of them.

"The banner of the workers from Washwood Heath proclaiming the message that we in the West Midlands should still be able to make rolling stock in our city of Birmingham."

Tom Keogh, a spokesman for the union Amicus, had previously told BBC Radio WM that he hoped Alstom's shareholders would sympathise with the protestors.

"The real aim is to show the company shareholders that Birmingham is not some small corner of nowhere - it's a major employer in the UK.

"We want to show them that we can build trains and hope to build trains in the future."

Mr Keogh said Amicus was angry the firm's massive order to supply London Underground trains was going abroad.

"It's not just the people here who are losing jobs, it's people who supply us as well," he said.