Île-de-France

Although the modern name Île-de-France literally means "Island of France", its etymology is in fact unclear. The "island" may refer to the land between the rivers Oise, Marne and Seine, or it may also have been a reference to the Île de la Cité, where the French royal palace and cathedral were located.

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  Historic province of Île-de-France before French Revolution
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  The modern départements covered by the historical Île-de-France
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  Modern region of Île-de-France and départements

The Île-de-France was inhabited by the Parisii, a sub-tribe of the Celtic Senones, from around the middle of the 3rd-century BC.[5][6] One of the area's major north–south trade routes crossed the Seine on the île de la Cité; this meeting place of land and water trade routes gradually became an important trading centre.[7] The Parisii traded with many river towns (some as far away as the Iberian Peninsula) and minted their own coins for that purpose.[8]

The Romans conquered the area in 52 BC and began their settlement on Paris's Left Bank.[9] It became a prosperous city with a forum, baths, temples, theatres, and an amphitheatre.[10] Christianity was introduced in the middle of the 3rd century AD by Saint Denis, the first Bishop of Paris. According to legend, when Denis refused to renounce his faith before Roman authorities he was beheaded on the hill that became known as Mons Martyrum (Latin "Hill of Martyrs"), later "Montmartre". The legend further states that Denis walked headless from this hill to the north of the city. The place where he finally fell and was buried became an important religious shrine, the Basilica of Saint-Denis.[11]

Clovis the Frank, the first king of the Merovingian dynasty, made the city his capital from 508. As the Frankish domination of Gaul began, there was a gradual immigration by the Franks to Paris and the Parisian Francien dialects were born. Fortification of the Île de la Cité failed to avert sacking by Vikings in 845, but Paris's strategic importance—with its bridges preventing ships from passing—was established by successful defence in the Siege of Paris (885–86). In 987, Hugh Capet, Count of Paris (comte de Paris) and Duke of the Franks (duc des Francs), was elected King of the Franks (roi des Francs). Under the rule of the Capetian kings, Paris gradually became the largest and most prosperous city in France.[11]

The Kings of France enjoyed getting away from Paris and hunting in the game-filled forests of the region. They built palatial hunting lodges, most notably Palace of Fontainebleau and the Palace of Versailles. From the time of Louis XIV until the French Revolution, Versailles was the official residence of the Kings and the seat of the French government. Île-de-France became the term used for the territory of Paris and the surrounding province, which was administered directly by the King.

During the French Revolution, the royal provinces were abolished and divided into departments, and the city and region were governed directly by the national government. In the period after World War II, as Paris faced a major housing shortage, hundreds of massive apartment blocks for low-income residents were built around the edges of Paris. In the 1950s and the 1960s, thousands of immigrants settled in the communes bordering the city. In 1959, under President Charles De Gaulle, a new region was created out of six departments, which corresponded approximately with the historic region, with the name District de la région de Paris ("District of the Paris Region"). On 6 May 1976, as part of the process of regionalisation, the district was reconstituted with increased administrative and political powers and renamed the Île-de-France region.

Île-de-France is in the north of France, neighboring Hauts-de-France to the north, Grand Est to the east, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté to the southeast, Centre-Val-de-Loire to the southwest, and Normandy to the west.

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  View of the forest of Fontainebleau in Seine-et-Marne
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  The Seine in Paris
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  Vineyard in Luzarches, Val-d'Oise
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  Transilien Line R train between Veneux-les-Sablons and Saint-Mammès

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  Headquarters of Total in La Défense
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  The historic Bourse de Paris, or Paris stock market, now called Euronext Paris
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  Headquarters of Société Générale in La Défense

The Paris Region is France's most important center of economic activity. In 2016, the region had a gross domestic product (GDP) of €681 billion (US$850 billion). The region accounts for nearly 30 percent of the French Gross Domestic Product (GDP). < All but one of the twenty-nine French companies listed in the Fortune Global 500 have their headquarters in Paris.[14]

The regional economy has gradually shifted toward high-value-added service industries (finance, IT services, etc.) and high-tech manufacturing (electronics, optics, aerospace, etc.).[15] In 2014 industry represented just under five percent of active enterprises in the region, and 10.2 percent of salaried workers. Commerce and services account for 84 percent of the business establishments in the region, and have 83.3 percent of the salaried employees.[16]

Financial services and insurance are important sectors of the regional economy; the major French banks and insurance companies, including BNP Paribas, Société générale, and Crédit agricole, all have their headquarters in the region, The region also hosts the headquarters of the top French telecom companies and utilities, including Orange S.A., Veolia and EDF, The French stock market, the Bourse de Paris, now known as Euronext Paris, occupies a historical building in the center of Paris, is in ranked fourth among global stock markets, after New York, Tokyo and London.,

Other major sectors of the regional economy include energy companies (Orano, Engie, Électricité de France. and Total S.A., the top French company in the Fortune Global 500, The two major French automobile manufacturers Renault at Flins-sur-Seine, and Groupe PSA at Poissy, do much of their assembly work outside of France, but still have research centers and large plants in the region. The leading French and European aerospace and defense companies, including (Airbus] industries; Thales Group, Dassault Aviation, Safran Aircraft Engines, the European Space Agency, Alcatel-Lucent, and Arianespace have a large presence in the region. The automotive industry: Renault Groupe PSA [17]

The Energy sector is also well established in the region. The nuclear power industry, with its major firm Orano, has its headquarters in Ile-de-France, as does he main French oil company Total S.A., the top French company in the Fortune Global 500, and the main electric utility, Électricité de France. The energy firm Engie also has its main offices in the region at La Défense.

All the major French banks, including BNP Paribas, Société générale, and Crédit agricole, have their main offices in the Paris Region, as well as the major French telecom and utility companies, including Orange S.A., Veolia, and EDF. The French stock market, the Bourse de Paris, now known as Euronext Paris, occupies a historical building in the center of Paris and is ranked fourth among global stock markets, after New York, Tokyo, and London.[18]

The Île-de-France is one of the world's top tourist destinations, with a record 23.6 million hotel arrivals in 2017, and an estimated 50 million visitors in all types of accommodation. The largest number of visitors came from the United States, followed by England, Germany and China.[24] [25][26] It was ranked as the third most visited travel destination in the world in 2017, after Bangkok and London.[27] The top tourist attraction in the region in 2017 was Disneyland Paris, which received 14.8 million visitors in 2017, followed by the Cathedral of Notre-Dame (est. 12 million) and the Basilica of Sacre-Coeur at Montmartre (est. 11.1 million visitors).[28]

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  Notre-Dame Cathedral (12 million visitors in 2017)
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  Palace of Versailles (7.7 million visitors in 2017)
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  Disneyland Paris (14.8 million visitors in 2017)
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  Château of Vaux le Vicomte

Notable historic monuments in the Region outside of Paris include the Palace of Versailles (7,700,000 visitors), the Palace of Fontainebleau (500,000 visitors), the chateau of Vaux-le-Vicomte (300,000 visitors), and the Château de Malmaison, Napoleon's former country house; and the Basilica of Saint-Denis, where the Kings of France were interred before the French Revolution.[29]

Seat of the regional council of Île-de-France in Paris (2008)

The Regional Council is the legislative body of the region. Its seat is in Paris, at 33 rue Barbet-de-Jouy in the 7th arrondissement. On 15 December 2015, a list of candidates of the Union of the Right, a coalition of centrist and right-wing parties, led by Valérie Pécresse, narrowly won the regional election, defeating the Union of the Left, a coalition of socialists and ecologists. The socialists had governed the region for the preceding seventeen years.

Since 2016 the regional council has 121 members from the Union of the Right, 66 from the Union of the Left and 22 from the far-right National Front.[30]

• List of European regions by GDP
• Véligo

• Fierro, Alfred (1996). Histoire et dictionnaire de Paris. Lafont. ISBN 978-0-7859-9300-1.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Schmidt, Joël (2009). Lutèce: Paris, des origines à Clovis. Perrin. ISBN 978-2-262-03015-5.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Île-de-France.

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Île-de-France.

• Paris Region Map, the interactive economic map of Paris Region
• Regional Council of Île-de-France (in French)
• Île-de-France at Curlie