Paris is the capital city of France and a French département (75). Situated on the banks of the river Seine in north-central France, it is also the capital of the Île-de-France région (also known as "Paris Region"), which encompasses Paris and its suburbs. Paris had an estimated mid-2004 population of 2,144,700.<ref name="paris_pop_2005">(French) INSEE, Government of France. "Estimation de population pour certaines grandes villes". Retrieved on 2006-04-10.</ref> The Paris urban area, extending well beyond the city boundaries, has today an estimated population of 9.93 million.<ref name="UU_2005">(French) INSEE, Government of France. "Population des villes et unités urbaines de plus de 1 million d'habitants de l'Union Européenne". Retrieved on 2006-04-10.</ref> The Paris metropolitan area (including satellite towns) stood at 11.5 million in 1999<ref name="paris_AU99_pop">(French) INSEE, Government of France. "Aire Urbaine '99 - pop totale par sexe et âge". Retrieved on 2006-04-10.</ref> and is one of the most populated metropolitan areas in Europe.

The Paris region is France's most dynamic centre of economic activity. It produces more than a quarter of France's wealth, with a GDP of €478.7 billion (US$595.3 billion) in 2005.<ref name="idf_gdp">(French) INSEE, Government of France. "Produits intérieurs bruts régionaux en valeur de 1990 à 2005" (XLS). Retrieved on 2006-09-12.</ref> With La Défense, the largest purpose-built business district in Europe, the Paris urban area (unité urbaine) also hosts the head offices of almost half of the major French companies, as well as the offices of major international firms. Paris is a leading cultural, business and political centre and has an influence in fashion, gastronomy and the arts.<ref name="paris_arts">Encyclopedia Britannica: Character of the city (from Paris). Retrieved on 2006-06-28.</ref> It is regarded as one of the major global cities,<ref>Inventory of World Cities, GaWC, Loughborough University</ref> with the headquarters of international organisations such as UNESCO, the OECD, the ICC, or the informal Paris Club.

The city, which is renowned for its defining neo-classical architecture, hosts many museums and galleries and has an active nightlife. The most recognisable symbol of Paris is the 324 metre (1,063 ft) Eiffel Tower on the banks of the Seine. Dubbed "the City of Light" (la Ville Lumière) since the 19th century, Paris is regarded by many as one of the most beautiful and romantic cities in the world.<ref name="paris_romantic">Hotels.com Customer Survey Reveals Top Ten Romantic Destinations. Retrieved on 2006-06-28.</ref>. It is also the most visited city in the world with more than 30 million foreign visitors per year.

1 History
2 Geography
- 2.1 Topography
- 2.2 Climate
3 Cityscape
4 Demography
5 Economy
- 5.1 Organisation
- 5.2 Sectors
6 Administration
7 Transport
8 Education
9 Culture
10 Sister cities
11 References
12 Bibliography
13 See also
14 External links

[edit] History

Main articles: History of Paris and Name of Paris and its inhabitants

[edit] Origin of the name

Paris is pronounced as [ˈpʰæɹɪs] in English and as [paʀi] (help·info) in French. The city derives its name from the Gallic Parisii tribe. The city, known as Lutetia (/lutetja/) during the Roman Empire, began to adopt its present-day name towards the end of the Roman era. Since the early 20th century, Paris has been known in parisian slang as Paname ([panam]; Moi j'suis d'Paname (help·info), i.e. "I'm from Paname"), a slang name that has been regaining favor with young people in recent years. Another sobriquet for Paris is 'The City of Light' (La Ville-lumière), owing to its early adoption of street-lighting.

The inhabitants of Paris are known as Parisians [pʰəˈɹɪzɪənz] or [pʰəˈɹiːʒn̩z] in English and as Parisiens ([paʀizjɛ̃] (help·info)) in French. Parisians are sometimes called Parigots ([paʀigo] (help·info)) in French slang, a term often used pejoratively by people outside the Paris Region, but sometimes considered endearing by Parisians themselves.

See Wiktionary for the name of Paris in various languages other than English and French.

[edit] Early beginnings

The earliest signs of permanent habitation in the Paris area date from around 4200 BC<ref name="roman_chronology">(English) www.paris.culture.fr. Paris, Roman City - Chronology (HTML). Retrieved on 2006-07-16.</ref>. Celtic migrants began to settle the area from 250 BC, and the Parisii tribe of these, known as boatmen and traders, established a settlement near the river Seine from around then.

Westward Roman conquest and the ensuing Gallic War overtook the Paris basin from 52 BC<ref name="roman_chronology">(English) www.paris.culture.fr. Paris, Roman City - Chronology (HTML). Retrieved on 2006-07-16.</ref>, and by the end of the century Paris' Île de la Cité island and Left Bank Sainte Geneviève Hill had become the Roman town of Lutetia. Gallo-Roman Lutèce would expand over the following centuries, becoming a prosperous city with palaces, a forum, baths, temples, theatres and an amphitheatre<ref name="roman_city">(English) www.paris.culture.fr. Paris, Roman City - The City (HTML). Retrieved on 2006-07-16.</ref>.

As other Roman cities, early Lutetia was structured as a regular grid (300 feet squares), with the cardo maximus (main North-South axis) being the current Rue Saint-Jacques, and the decumani (East-West axis) were parallel to current Bd Saint-Germain and Rue des Ecoles. The "point zero", or groma of this grid was probably located at the southwest corner of the forum, which corresponds to nos. 172 and 174 of Rue Saint-Jacques: the highest point on the Saint-Geneviève hill<ref name="roman_cardo">(English) www.paris.culture.fr. Paris, Roman City - "The Grid Layout" (HTML). Retrieved on 2006-08-26.</ref>.

The collapse of the Roman empire and third-century Germanic invasions sent the city into a period of decline: by 400 AD Lutèce, largely abandoned by its inhabitants, was little more than a garrison town entrenched into its hastily fortified central island<ref name="roman_chronology">(English) www.paris.culture.fr. Paris, Roman City - Chronology (HTML). Retrieved on 2006-07-16.</ref>. The city would reclaim its original "Paris" appellation towards the end of the Roman occupation.

[edit] Middle ages

Around AD 500, Paris was the capital of the Frankish king Clovis I, who commissioned the first cathedral and abbey. On the death of Clovis, the Frankish kingdom was divided, and Paris became the capital of a much smaller sovereign state. By the time of the Carolingian dynasty (9th century), Paris was little more than a feudal county stronghold. The Counts of Paris gradually rose to prominence and eventually wielded greater power than the Kings of Francia occidentalis. Odo, Count of Paris was elected king in place of the incumbent Charles the Fat, namely for the fame he gained in his defence of Paris during the Viking siege of 885-886. Although the Cité island had survived the Viking attacks, most of the unprotected Left Bank city was destroyed; rather than rebuild there, after drying marshlands to the north of the island, Paris began to expand onto the Right Bank. In 987 AD, Hugh Capet, Count of Paris, was elected King of France, founding the Capetian dynasty which would raise Paris to become France's capital.

From 1190, King Philip Augustus enclosed Paris on both banks with a wall that had the Louvre as its western fortress and in 1200 chartered the University of Paris which brought visitors from across Europe. It was during this period that the city developed a spatial distribution of activities that exists even today: the central island housed government and ecclesiastical institutions, the left bank became a scholastic centre with the University and colleges, while the right bank developed as the centre of commerce and trade around the central Les Halles marketplace.

Paris lost its position as seat of the French realm while occupied by the English-ally Burgundians during the Hundred Years' War, but regained its title when Charles VII reclaimed the city in 1437; although Paris was capital once again, the Crown preferred to remain in its Loire Valley castles. During the French Wars of Religion, Paris was a stronghold of the Catholic party, culminating in the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre (1572). King Henry IV re-established the royal court in Paris in 1594 after he captured the city from the Catholic party. During the Fronde, Parisians rose in rebellion and the royal family fled the city (1648). King Louis XIV then moved the royal court permanently to Versailles in 1682. A century later, Paris was the centre stage for the French Revolution, with the Storming of the Bastille in 1789 and the overthrow of the monarchy in 1792.

[edit] Nineteenth century

Image:The Trocadero, Exposition Universal, 1900, Paris, France.jpg

The Industrial Revolution, the French Second Empire, and the Belle Époque brought Paris the greatest development in its history. From the 1840s, rail transport allowed an unprecedented flow of migrants into Paris attracted by employment in the new industries in the suburbs. The city underwent a massive renovation under Napoleon III and his préfet Haussmann, who leveled entire districts of narrow-winding medieval streets to create the network of wide avenues and neo-classical façades of modern Paris.

Cholera epidemics in 1832 and 1849 affected the population of Paris — the 1832 epidemic alone claimed 20,000 of the then population of 650,000.<ref name="cholera">(French) La Petite Gazette Généalogique, Amicale Genealogie. "Le Cholera". Retrieved on 2006-04-10.</ref> Paris also suffered greatly from the siege ending the Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871), and the ensuing civil war Commune of Paris (1871) killed thousands and sent many of Paris's administrative centres (and city archives) up in flames.

Paris recovered rapidly from these events to host the famous Universal Expositions of the late nineteenth century. The Eiffel Tower was built for the French Revolution centennial 1889 Universal Exposition, as a "temporary" display of architectural engineering prowess but remained the world's tallest building until 1930, and today is the city's best-known landmark. The first line of the Paris Métro opened for the 1900 Universal Exposition and was an attraction in itself for visitors from the world over. Paris's World's Fair years also consolidated its position in the tourist industry and as an attractive setting for international technology and trade shows.

[edit] Twentieth century and Today

Image:Rue de Rivoli Paris.JPG

During World War I, Paris was at the forefront of the war effort, having been spared a German invasion by the French and British victory at the First Battle of the Marne in 1914. In 1918-1919, it was the scene of Allied victory parades and peace negotiations. In the inter-war period Paris was famed for its cultural and artistic communities and its nightlife. The city became a melting pot of artists from around the world, from exiled Russian composer Stravinsky and Spanish painters Picasso and Dalí to American writer Hemingway. In June 1940, five weeks after the start of the German attack on France, a partially evacuated Paris fell to German occupation forces who remained until the city was liberated by the 2nd Armored Division of General Leclerc in late August 1944. Central Paris endured WW II practically unscathed, as there were no strategic targets for bombers (train stations in central Paris are terminal stations; major factories were located in the suburbs), and also because German General von Choltitz refused to carry out Hitler's order that all Parisian monuments be destroyed before any German retreat.

Image:Europe CD 3 036.jpg

In the post-war era, Paris experienced its largest development since the end of the Belle Époque in 1914. The suburbs began to expand considerably, with the construction of large social estates known as cités and the beginning of the business district La Défense. A comprehensive express subway network, the RER, was built to complement the Métro and serve the distant suburbs, while a network of freeways was developed in the suburbs, centered on the Périphérique expressway circling around the city.

Since the 1970s, many inner suburbs of Paris (especially the eastern ones) have experienced deindustrialization, and the once-thriving cités have gradually become ghettos for immigrants and oases of unemployment. At the same time, the City of Paris (within its Périphérique ring) and the western and southern suburbs have successfully shifted their economic base from traditional manufacturing to high value-added services and high-tech manufacturing, generating great wealth for their residents whose per capita income is among the highest in Europe. The resulting widening social gap between these two areas has led to periodic unrest since the mid-1980s, such as the 2005 riots which largely concentrated in the northeastern suburbs.

[edit] Geography

[edit] Topography

Main article: Topography of Paris

Image:Aftnn The Seine from the Eiffel Tower.jpg

Paris is located on a north-bending arc of the river Seine and includes two inhabited islands, the Île Saint-Louis and the larger Île de la Cité which is the heart and origin of the city. Paris has several prominent hills, of which the highest is Montmartre at 130 metres (426½ ft) above sea level.

The City of Paris, excluding the outlying parks of Bois de Boulogne and Bois de Vincennes, covers an oval measuring 86.928 square kilometres (33.56 mi²) in area. The city's last major annexation of outlying territories in 1860 not only gave it its modern form, but created the twenty clockwise-spiralling arrondissements it still has today. From its 1860 78 km² (30.1 mi²), these limits changed marginally to 86.9 km² in the 1920's, and in 1929 the Bois de Boulogne and Bois de Vincennes forest parks were officially annexed to the city, bringing its area to its present 105.397 square kilometres (40.69 mi²).

The Paris agglomeration (urban area) extends from the city limits to an area much greater than Paris itself (app. 26 times larger) in an irregular oval with tentacles of urban growth extending along the Seine and Marne river from the city's south-east and east, and along the Seine and Oise rivers to the city's north-west and north. Urban density drops sharply in the land surrounding; a mix of forest and agriculture dotted with a network of relatively evenly dispersed satellite towns, this couronne péri-urbaine (commuter belt), when combined with the Paris agglomeration, completes a Paris aire urbaine (metropolitan area) that covers an oval 14,518 km² (5,605.5 mi²)^{[citation needed]} in area, or an area about 138 times that of Paris itself.

[edit] Climate

Paris has an Oceanic climate and is affected by the North Atlantic Drift, so the city enjoys a temperate climate that rarely sees extremely high or low temperatures. The average yearly high temperature is about 15 °C (59 °F), and yearly lows tend to remain around an average of 7 °C (45 °F). The highest temperature ever, recorded on 28 July 1948, was 40.4 °C (104.7 °F), and the lowest was a −23.9 °C (−11.0 °F) temperature reached on 10 December 1879.<ref name="climate">(French) INSEE, Government of France. "Géographie de la capitale - Le climat" (HTML). Retrieved on 2006-05-24.</ref> The Paris region has recently seen temperatures reaching both extremes, with the heat wave of 2003 and the cold wave of 2006.

Rainfall can occur at any time of the year, and Paris is known for its sudden showers. The city sees an average yearly precipitation of around 641.6 mm (25.2 inches).<ref name="climate">(French) "Géographie de la capitale - Le climat" (HTML). Retrieved on 2006-05-24.</ref> Snowfall is a rare occurrence, usually appearing in the coldest months of January or February (but has been recorded as late as April), and almost never accumulates enough to make a covering that will last more than a day.

Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Avg high °C (°F)	6 (43)	7 (45)	10 (51)	14 (57)	18 (64)	21 (70)	24 (75)	24 (75)	20 (69)	15 (59)	9 (49)	7 (45)	15 (59)
Avg low temperature °C (°F)	-2 (28)	-1 (30)	3 (38)	5 (42)	9 (49)	12 (54)	14 (58)	14 (57)	11 (52)	8 (46)	4 (39)	2 (36)	7 (45)
Source: Weatherbase

[edit] Cityscape

[edit] Urbanism and architecture

Image:Paris-immeuble-avenue-opera.jpg

Image:Arche-de-la-defense.jpg

"Modern" Paris is the result of a vast mid-19th-century urban remodelling. For centuries it had been a labyrinth of narrow streets and half-timber houses, but beginning in 1852, the Baron Haussmann's vast urbanisation levelled entire quarters to make way for wide avenues lined with neo-classical stone buildings of bourgeoise standing; most of this 'new' Paris is the Paris we see today. These Second Empire plans are in many cases still actual, as the city of Paris imposes the then-defined "alignement" law (imposed position defining a predetermined street width) on many new constructions. A building's height was also defined according to the width of the street it lines, and Paris' building code has seen few changes since the mid-19th century to allow for higher constructions. It is for this reason, save for a few 'pointed' examples, that Paris seems an essentially flat city when compared to some of the world's other metropoles.

Paris' unchanging borders, strict building codes and lack of developable land have together contributed in creating a phenomenon called muséification (or "museumification") as, at the same time as they strive to preserve Paris' historical past, existing laws make it difficult to create within city limits the larger buildings and utilities needed for a growing population. Many of Paris' institutions and economic infrastructure are already located in, or are planning on moving to, the suburbs. The financial (La Défense) business district, the main food wholesale market (Rungis), major renowned schools (École Polytechnique, HEC, ESSEC, INSEAD, etc.), world famous research laboratories (in Saclay or Évry), the largest sport stadium (Stade de France), and some ministries (namely the Ministry of Transportation) are located outside of the city of Paris. The National Archives of France are due to relocate to the northern suburbs before 2010.

Paris has over 2,400 km of underground passageways <ref name="sewers"> (French) "Les égouts parisiens". Retrieved on 2006-05-15. </ref> dedicated to the evacuation of Paris' liquid wastes. Most of these even today date from the late 19th century, a result of the combined plans of the Préfet Haussmann and the civil engineer Eugène Belgrand to improve the then very unsanitary conditions in the Capital. Maintained by a round-the-clock service since their construction, only a small percentage of Paris' sewer réseau has needed complete renovation. The entire Paris network of sewers and collectors has been managed since the late 20th century by a computerised network system, known under the acronym "G.A.AS.PAR", that controls all of Paris' water distribution, even the flow of the river Seine through the capital.

[edit] Districts and historical centres

Image:PARIS-MONTPARNASSE.JPG Image:P1060767 md.jpg

Main article: Paris districts

These are a few of Paris' major districts.

Champs-Élysées (8^th arrondissement, right bank) is a seventeenth century garden-promenade turned avenue connecting the Concorde and Arc de Triomphe. It is one of the many tourist attractions and a major shopping street of Paris. This avenue has been called "la plus belle avenue du monde" ("the most beautiful avenue in the world").
Avenue Montaigne (8^th arrondissement), next to the Champs-Elysées, is home to luxury brand labels such as Chanel, Louis Vuitton (LVMH), Dior and Givenchy.
Place de la Concorde (8^th arrondissement, right bank) is at the foot of the Champs-Élysées, built as the "Place Louis XV", site of the infamous guillotine. The Egyptian obelisk it holds today can be considered Paris's "oldest monument". On this place, on the two side of the Rue Royale live two identical stone buildings: the eastern houses the French Naval Ministry, the western the luxurious Hôtel de Crillon. Nearby Place Vendome is famous for its fashionable and deluxe hotels (Hotel Ritz and Hôtel de Vendôme) and its jewellers. Many famous fashion designers have had their salons in the square.
Faubourg Saint-Honoré (8^th arrondissement, right bank) is one of Paris' high-fashion districts, home to labels such as Hermès and Christian Lacroix.
L'Opéra (9^th arrondissement, right bank) is the area around the Opéra Garnier is a home to the capital's densest concentration of both department stores and offices. A few examples are the Printemps and Galeries Lafayette grands magasins (department stores), and the Paris headquarters of financial giants such as Crédit Lyonnais and American Express.
Montmartre (18^th arrondissement, right bank) is a historic area on the Butte, home to the Basilica of the Sacré Coeur. Montmartre has always had a history with artists and has many studios and cafés of many great artists in that area.
Les Halles (1^st arrondissement, right bank) was formerly Paris' central meat and produce market, since the late 1970s a major shopping center around an important metro connection station (the biggest in Europe). The past Les Halles was destroyed in 1971 and replaced by the current day Forum des Halles. The central market of Paris, the biggest wholesale food market in the world, was transfered to Rungis, in the southern suburbs.
Le Marais (3^rd and 4^th arrondissements) is a trendy Right Bank district. With large gay and Jewish populations it is a very culturally open place.
Place de la Bastille (4^th, 11^th and 12^th arrondissements, right bank) being one of the most historic districts, being a location of an essential event of not only Paris, but the whole country of France. Because of its historical value the square is often used for political demonstrations, including the massive anti-CPE demonstration of March 28, 2006.
Quartier Latin (5^th and 6^th arrondissements, left bank) is a twelfth century scholastic centre formerly stretching between the Left Bank's Place Maubert and the Sorbonne campus. It is known for its lively atmosphere and many bistros. With various higher education establishments, such as the École Normale Supérieure, the École des Mines and the Jussieu university campus make it a major educational center in Paris, which also contributes to its atmosphere.
Montparnasse (14^th arrondissement) is a historic Left Bank area famous for artists studios, music halls, and café life. The large Montparnasse - Bienvenüe métro station and the lone Tour Montparnasse skyscraper are located there.
La Défense (straddling the communes of Courbevoie, Puteaux, and Nanterre, 2.5 km/1.5 miles west of the City of Paris) is a key suburb of Paris and is one of the largest business centres in the world, and is a major destination for business tourism. Built at the western end of a westward extension of Paris' historical axis from the Champs-Élysées, La Défense consists mainly of business highrises. Initiated by the French government in 1958, the district hosts currently 3.5 million m² of offices, making of it the largest district in Europe specifically developed for business. The Grande Arche (Great Arch) of la Defense, which houses a part of the French Transports Minister's headquarters, ends the central Esplanade around which the district is organized.
Plaine Saint-Denis (straddling the communes of Saint-Denis, Aubervilliers, and Saint-Ouen, immediately across the Périphérique ring road (which encircles Paris proper) north of the 18^th arrondissement) is a formerly derelict manufacturing area which has undergone massive regeneration in the last 10 years. It now hosts the Stade de France around which is being built the new business district of LandyFrance, with two RER stations (on RER line B and D) and possibly some skyscrapers<ref name="skyscrapers_Saint-Denis">(French) Le Nouvel Observateur (May 2006). "Paris - Petite couronne : la bataille des tours". Retrieved on 2006-09-22.</ref>. In the Plaine Saint-Denis are also located most of France's television studios as well as some major movie studios.

[edit] Parks and gardens

Image:PalaysRoyal Garten.JPG

Main article: List of parks and gardens in Paris

Two of Paris's oldest and famous gardens are the Tuileries Garden, created from the 16th century for a palace on the banks of the Seine near the Louvre, and the Left bank Luxembourg Garden, another formerly private garden belonging to a château built for the Marie de' Medici in 1612. The Jardin des Plantes, created by Louis XIII's doctor Guy de La Brosse for the cultivation of medicinal plants, was Paris' first public garden.

A few of Paris' other large gardens are Second Empire creations: the formerly suburban parks of Montsouris, Buttes Chaumont and Parc Monceau (formerly known as the "folie de Chartres"), were creations of Napoleon III's engineer Jean-Charles Alphand and the landscape . You will often see Pariseans having picnics at the parks, soaking up the warm sunshine, or simply enjoying the nature. They are peaceful escapes from the city and are enjoyed by all ages. Another project executed under the orders of Baron Haussmann

Image:Roseraie parc monceau.jpg

architect Barillet-Deschamps was the re-sculpting of Paris' western Bois de Boulogne forest-parklands; the Bois de Vincennes, to Paris' opposite eastern end, received a similar treatment in years following.

Newer additions to Paris' park landscape are the Parc de la Villette, built by the architect Bernard Tschumi on the location of Paris' former slaughterhouses, and gardens being lain to Paris' periphery along the traces of its former circular "Petite Ceinture" railway line.

[edit] Cemeteries

Image:Perelachaise-p1000347.jpg

Paris' cemeteries were to its outskirts upon their 1804 creation. Many of Paris' churches had their own parish cemeteries, but these by the late 18th century contributed to making living conditions quite unsanitary in an ever-growing Capital. Abolished from 1786, all parish cemeteries were excavated their contents taken to abandoned limestone mines outside the southern gates of then Paris, today the 14e arrondissement's place Denfert-Rochereau. The latter are known today as the Paris Catacombes.

Although Paris today has once again grown to surround all its former extra-muros cemeteries, these have become all-too-rare and much-appreciated oases of quiet, greenery and sculpture in a thriving city. Many of Paris's illustrious historical figures have found rest in Père Lachaise Cemetery. Other notable cemeteries include Cimetière de Montmartre, Cimetière du Montparnasse, Cimetière de Passy and the Catacombs of Paris.

Paris created new suburban cemeteries for its dead from the early 20th century: the largest of these are the Cimitière Parisien de Saint-Ouen, the Cimitière Parisien de Bobigny-Pantin, the Cimitière Parisien d'Ivry and the Cimitière Parisien de Bagneux.

[edit] Water and sanitation

Image:Canal Saint-Martin 1.jpg

Paris in its early history had only the Seine and Bièvre rivers for water. Later forms of irrigation were: a first-century Roman aqueduct from southerly Wissous (later left to ruin); sources from the Right bank hills from the late 11th century; from the 15th-century an aqueduct built roughly along the path of the first; finally, from 1809, the canal de l'Ourcq began providing Paris with water from less polluted rivers away from the Capital. Paris would only have its first constant and plentiful source of drinkable water from the late 19th-century: from 1857, under Napoleon III's Préfet Haussmann, the civil engineer Eugène Belgrand oversaw the construction of a series of new aqueducts that would bring sources from distant locations to reservoirs built in the highest points of the Capital. The new sources became Paris' principal source of drinking water, and the remains of the old system, pumped into lower levels of the same reservoirs, were from then dedicated to the cleaning of Paris' streets. This system is still a major part of Paris' modern water supply network.

Paris has over 2,400 km of underground passageways <ref name="sewers"> (French) "Les égouts parisiens". Retrieved on 2006-05-15. </ref> dedicated to the evacuation of Paris' liquid wastes. Most of these even today date from the late 19th century, a result of the combined plans of the Préfet Haussmann and the civil engineer Eugène Belgrand to improve the then very unsanitary conditions in the Capital. Maintained by a round-the-clock service since their construction, only a small percentage of Paris' sewer réseau has needed complete renovation. The entire Paris network of sewers and collectors is been managed since the late 20th century by a computerised network system, known under the acronym "G.A.AS.PAR", that controls all of Paris' water distribution, even the flow of the river Seine through the capital.

[edit] Demography

**Demographics within the Paris Region**
*(according to the official INSEE 1999 census)*
Image:Paris uu ua jms.png
Areas	Population	Area (km²)	Density (/km²)	1990-1999</br>growth
City
City of Paris (département 75)	2,125,246	105	20,240	-1.26%
Suburban Départements
Inner ring (Petite Couronne) (Depts. 92, 93, 94)	4,038,992	657	6,148	+1.27%
Outer ring (Grande Couronne) (Depts. 77, 78, 91, 95)	4,787,773	11,249	426	+5.93%
Ile-de-France (entire région)	10,952,011	12,011	912	+2.73%
Statistical Growth
Urban area (Paris agglomeration)	9,644,507	2,723	3,542	+1.85%
Metro area (agglomeration, commuter belt)	11,174,743	14,518	770	+2.90%

Main article: Demographics of Paris

The population of the City of Paris was 2,125,246 at the 1999 census, lower than the historical peak of 2.9 million in 1921^{[citation needed]}. This decline was because of the relocation of people to the suburbs caused by de-industrialisation, high rent, the gentrification of many inner quarters and the transformation of living space into offices, although not on the scale seen in some Western cities. These tendencies are generally seen as negative for the city; the current city administration is trying to reverse them with some success, as the population estimate of July 2004 shows a population increase for the first time since 1954 reaching a total of 2,144,700 inhabitants.

[edit] Density

The City of Paris is the most densely populated area in the Western World after the island of Manhattan in New York City^{[citation needed]}. Excluding the outlying woodland parks of Boulogne and Vincennes, its density was 24,448 inh. per km² (63,321 inh. per sq. mile) in 1999 official census^{[citation needed]}. Paris has maintained a relatively balanced distribution of apartment residences, office spaces and commercial activities catering to both, although some districts have lost much of their apartment housing to office renovations, partly contributing to the population decline seen since the 1920's.^{[citation needed]}

Paris' most sparsely populated quarters are its western and central office and administration-charged arrondissements^{[citation needed]}. The city is at its densest in its north and east arrondissements; its 11th arrondissement had a density of 40,672/km² (105,339/sq. mile) in 1999^{[citation needed]}, and some of the same arrondissement's eastern quarters showed densities close to 100,000/km² (260,000/sq. mile) the same year.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] The Paris agglomeration

The City of Paris is much smaller than its urban growth. At present, the city's urban area (agglomeration) fills a ring of Paris' three neighbouring départements - also known as petite couronne ("small ring") - and extends into an "outer ring" of four grande couronne départements beyond. These eight départements together complete the Île-de-France région.

The Paris agglomeration or urban area (unité urbaine) covers 2,723 km² (1,051.4 mi²) <ref name="UU_superficie">(French) "Chiffres-Clefs - Unité Urbaine - Paris" (HTML). Retrieved on 2006-05-28.</ref>, or about 26 times larger than the city of Paris. Beyond this, the couronne peri-urbaine commuter belt region reaches well beyond the limits of the Île-de-France région, and combined with the Paris agglomeration, completes a metropolitan area (aire urbaine) covering 14,518 km² (5,605.5 mi²) ^{[citation needed]}, or an area about 138 times that of Paris itself.

Image:Downtown paris.jpg

The Paris agglomeration has shown a steady rate of growth since the end of the late 16th-century French Wars of Religion, save brief setbacks during the French Revolution and World War II^{[citation needed]}. Suburban development has accelerated in recent years, as with an estimated total of 11.4 million inhabitants for 2005, the Île-de-France région shows a rate of growth double that of the 1990s <ref name="99_05">(French) INSEE, Government of France. "Enquêtes annuelles de recensement 2004 et 2005" (PDF). Retrieved on 2006-04-10.</ref><ref name="90_99">(French) INSEE, Government of France. "Enquêtes annuelles de recensement: premiers résultats de la collecte 2004" (PDF). Retrieved on 2006-04-10.</ref>.

[edit] Immigration

Image:Paris suburs.jpg French censuses, by law, ask no questions regarding ethnicity or religion, but do gather information concerning country of birth. From this it is still possible to determine that the Paris metropolitan area is one of the most multi-cultural in Europe: at the 1999 census, 19.4% of its total population was born outside of metropolitan France<ref name="foreign born">(French) INSEE, Government of France. "Aire urbaine 99 : Paris - Migrations (caractère socio-économique selon le lieu de naissance)". Retrieved on 2006-07-06.</ref>. At the same census, 4.2% of the Paris metropolitan area's population were recent immigrants (i.e people who migrated to France between the 1990 and 1999 censuses)<ref name="recent migrants">(French) INSEE, Government of France. "Aire urbaine 99 : Paris - Migrations (caractère démographique selon le lieu de résidence au 01/01/90)". Retrieved on 2006-07-06.</ref>, in their majority from mainland China and Africa<ref name="current immigration">(French) INSEE, Government of France. "Flux d'immigration permanente par motif en 2003". Retrieved on 2006-06-25.</ref>.

The first wave of international migration to Paris started as early as in 1820 with the arrivals of German peasants fleeing the agricultural crisis in Germany. Several waves of immigration followed continuously until today : Italians and central European Jews during the 19th century; Russians after the revolution of 1917; colonial citizens during World War I and later; Poles between the two world wars; Spaniards, Portuguese and North Africans from the 1950's to the 1970's; North African Jews after the independence of those countries; Africans and Asians since then<ref name="past immigration">(French) "Histoire de l'immigration en France". Retrieved on 2006-06-25.</ref>. The majority of these today are naturalised French without any distinction, in the name of the French Republic principle of equality among its citizens.

[edit] Economy

Main article: Economy of Paris

With a 2005 GDP of €478.7 billion<ref name="idf_gdp">(French) INSEE, Government of France. "Produits intérieurs bruts régionaux en valeur de 1990 à 2005" (XLS). Retrieved on 2006-09-12.</ref> (US$595.3 billion)<ref name="PPP">At real exchange rates, not at PPP</ref>, the Paris Region is an engine of the global economy: if it were a country, it would rank as the sixteenth largest economy in the world.<ref name="gdp_rank">(English) "Total GDP 2005" (PDF). Retrieved on 2006-09-12.</ref> The Paris Region is thus France's premier centre of economic activity: while its population accounted for 18.7% of the total population of metropolitan France in 2005,<ref name="idf_pop_2005">(French) INSEE, Government of France. "Estimations de la population des régions au 1er janvier ". Retrieved on 2006-09-12.</ref> its GDP was about 28.5% that of metropolitan France.<ref name="idf_gdp">(French) INSEE, Government of France. "Produits intérieurs bruts régionaux en valeur de 1990 à 2005" (XLS). Retrieved on 2006-09-12.</ref> Activity in the Paris metropolitan area, though diverse, has not found a specialization such as Los Angeles with entertainment industries or London and New York with financial industries. In recent decades, however, the Paris economy has been shifting towards high value-added service industries (finance, IT services, etc.) and high-tech manufacturing (electronics, optics, aerospace, etc.).

[edit] Organisation

Image:La-defense-paris-financial.jpg The Paris Region's most intense economic activity through the central Hauts-de-Seine département and suburban La Défense business district places Paris' economic centre to the west of the city, in a triangle between the Opéra Garnier, La Défense and the Val de Seine. Paris' administrative borders have little consequences on the limits of its economic activity: although most workers commute from the suburbs to work in the city, many commute from the city to work in the suburbs. At the 1999 census, 47.5% of the 5,089,170 people in employment in the Paris metropolitan area (including commuter belt) worked in the city of Paris and the Hauts-de-Seine département, while only 31.5% worked exclusively in Paris^{[citation needed]}.

[edit] Sectors

Although the Paris economy is largely dominated by services, it remains an important manufacturing powerhouse of Europe, especially in industrial sectors such as automobiles, aeronautics and high-technologies. Over recent decades, the local economy has moved towards high value-added activities, in particular business services.

The 1999 census indicated that of the 5,089,170 persons employed in the Paris metropolitan area, 16.5% worked in business services, 13.0% in commerce (retail and wholesale trade), 12.3% in manufacturing, 10.0% in public administrations and defense, 8.7% in health services, 8.2% in transportation and communications, 6.6% in education, and the remaining 24.7% in many other economic sectors. Among the manufacturing sector, the largest employers were the electronic and electrical industry (17.9% of the total manufacturing workforce in 1999) and the publishing and printing industry (14.0% of the total manufacturing workforce), with the remaining 68.1% of the manufacturing workforce distributed among many other industries. The tourism industry and tourist related services employ 3.6% of the total workforce of the Paris Region (in 1999), and 6.2% of the total workforce of the city of Paris.<ref name="workforce">(French) INSEE, Government of France. "Les emplois dans les activités liées au tourisme: un sur quatre en Ile-de-France" (PDF). Retrieved on 2006-04-10.</ref>

[edit] Administration

[edit] Paris, Capital of France

Paris is the capital of France, and as such is the seat of France's national government.

For the executive, the two chief officers each have their own official residences, which also serve as their offices. President of the Republic resides at the Elysée Palace in the VIIIe arrondissement, while the Prime Minister's seat is at the Hôtel Matignon in the VIIe arrondissement. Government ministries are located in various parts of the city - many are located in the VIIe, near the Matignon.

The two houses of the French Parliament are also located on the Left Bank. The upper house, the Senate, meets in the Palais du Luxembourg in the VIe arrondissement, while the more important lower house, the Assemblée Nationale, meets in the Palais Bourbon in the VIIe. The President of the Senate, the second highest public official in France after the President of the Republic, resides in the "Petit Luxembourg", a smaller palace annex to the Palais du Luxembourg.

France's highest courts are located in Paris. The Court of Cassation, the highest court in the judicial order, which tries most criminal and civil cases, is located in the Palais de Justice on the Ile de la Cité, while the Conseil d'État, which provides legal advice to the executive and acts as the highest court in the administrative order, judging litigation against public bodies, is located in the Palais Royal in the Ier.

The Constitutional Council, which is an advisory body which is the ultimate authority on the constitutionality of laws and government decrees, also meets in the Palais Royal.

[edit] City government

Main articles: Paris mayors and Arrondissements of Paris

Paris has been a commune (municipality) since 1834 (and also briefly between 1790 and 1795). At the 1790 division of France into communes in the beginning of the French Revolution, and again in 1834, Paris was a city only half its modern size, but in 1860 it annexed bordering communes, some entirely, to create the new administrative map of twenty municipal arrondissements the city still has today. These municipal subdivisions describe a clockwise spiral outward from its most central Ier arrondissement.

Paris as a commune from 1790 became the préfecture (capital) of the Seine département that encompassed Paris and a number of neighbouring communes, but this département was split in 1968 into four smaller ones: the city of Paris became a département distinct from suburban communes in retaining the Seine département 's "75" number (originating from the Seine département's position in France's alphabetical list of départements), while the three new Hauts-de-Seine, Seine-Saint-Denis and Val-de-Marne départements were attributed the numbers 92, 93 and 94 respectively. The result of this division is that today Paris's limits as a département are exactly those of its limits as a commune, a situation unique in France.

[edit] Municipal offices

Each of Paris's 20 arrondissements has a directly-elected council (conseil d'arrondissement), which in turn elects an arrondissement mayor. A selection of members from each arrondissement council form the Council of Paris (conseil de Paris), which in turn elects the mayor of Paris.

Image:Paris at night.jpgIn mediaeval times Paris was governed by a merchant-elected municipality whose head was the provost of the merchants: in addition to regulating city commerce, the provost of the merchants was responsible for some civic duties such as the guarding of city walls and the cleanliness of city streets. This role was seconded from the 13th century by the provost of Paris, a direct representative of the king responsible for law and order in the city and its surrounding prévôté (county). Many functions from both offices were transferred to the office of the crown-appointed lieutenant general of police upon its creation in 1667.

Paris' last Prévôt des marchands was assassinated the afternoon of the 14th of July 1789 uprising that was the French Revolution Storming of the Bastille. Paris became an official "commune" from the creation of the administrative division on December 14th the same year, and its provisional "Paris commune" revolutionary municipality was replaced with the city's first municipal constitution and government from October 9, 1790<ref name="1790_municipality">(French) "Improvising a Government in Paris in July 1789" (HTML). Retrieved on 2006-09-14.</ref>. Through the turmoil of the 1794 Thermidorian Reaction, however, it became apparent that revolutionary Paris's political independence was a threat to any governing power: the office of mayor was abolished the same year, and its municipal council one year later.

Although the municipal council was recreated in 1834, Paris spent most of the 19th and 20th centuries, along with the larger Seine département of which it was a centre, under the direct control of the State-appointed préfet of the Seine, in charge of general affairs there; the State-appointed Prefect of Police was in charge of police in the same jurisdiction. Paris, save for a few brief occasions, would have no mayor until 1977, and the Paris Prefecture of Police is still under State control today.

Despite its double existence as commune and département, Paris has a unique council to governing both; the Council of Paris, presided by the mayor of Paris, meets either as a municipal council (conseil municipal) or as a departmental council (conseil général) depending on the issue to be debated.

Paris' modern administrative organisation still retains some traces of the former Seine département jurisdiction. The Prefecture of Police (also directing Paris' fire brigades), for example, has still a jurisdiction extending to Paris' petite couronne of bordering three départements for some operations such as fire protection or rescue operations, and is still directed by France's national government. Paris has no municipal police force, although it does have its own brigade of traffic wardens. Image:Ile-de-France jms.png

[edit] Paris, Capital of the Île-de-France région

As part of a 1961 nation-wide administrative effort to consolidate regional economies, Paris as a département became the capital of the new District of the Paris Region, transformed into the Île-de-France région in 1976, encompassing the Paris département and its seven closest départements. The regional council members are chosen by direct elections (since 1986). The prefect of the Paris département (known as the prefect of the Seine département before 1968) is also prefect of the Île-de-France région, although the office lost a lot of its powers with the creation of the office of mayor of Paris in 1977.

[edit] Intercommunality

Few of the above changes have taken into account Paris's existence as an agglomeration. Unlike in most of France's major urban areas such as Lille and Lyon, there is no intercommunal entity in the Paris urban area, no intercommunal council treating the problems of the region's dense urban core as a whole; Paris's alienation of its suburbs is indeed a problem today, and considered by many to be the main causes of civil unrest such as suburban riots in 2005. A direct result of these unfortunate events were propositions for a more efficient metropolitan structure to cover the city of Paris and some of the suburbs, ranging from a socialist idea of a loose "metropolitan conference" (conférence métropolitaine) to the right-wing idea of a more integrated Grand Paris ("Greater Paris").

[edit] Transport

Image:Thalys2.JPG

Main articles: Transport in Paris and Transport in France

Paris's role as a centre of international trade and tourism has brought its transportation system many embellishments over the past centuries, and its development is still progressing at a rapid pace today. Only in the past few decades Paris has become the center of an autoroute system, high-speed train network and, through its two major airports, a hub of international air travel.

[edit] Air travel

Paris is served by two principal airports: Orly Airport, which is south of Paris, and the Charles de Gaulle International Airport in nearby Roissy-en-France, one of the busiest in Europe. A third and much smaller airport, at the town of Beauvais, 70 km (45 mi) to the north of the city, is used by charter and low-cost airlines. Le Bourget airport nowadays only hosts business jets, air trade shows and the aerospace museum.

[edit] Railway

See also: List of railway stations in Paris

Paris is a central hub of the national rail network of high-speed (TGV) and normal (Corail) trains. Six major railway stations, Gare du Nord, Gare Montparnasse, Gare de l'Est, Gare de Lyon<

Paris

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