Paris

Paris is the capital city of France, as well as the capital of the Île-de-France région, whose territory encompasses Paris and its suburbs. The city of Paris proper is also a département, called Paris département (French: département de Paris). It is a wonderful city for aimless wandering of which features a wide variety of style and décor and boasts a wide assortment of entertainment to satisfy even the most benign of tastes.

Demographics

:See main article: Demographics of Paris

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Population growth

At the 1999 census, the population of the city of Paris (excluding suburbs) was 2,125,246. The population of the metropolitan area of Paris was 11,174,743.

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Historically, the population of the city of Paris peaked in 1921, when it reached 2.9 million. However, there has been since then a movement toward living in suburbs, as well as the gentrification of many areas of inner Paris, and the use of available space for offices rather than dwellings, although this phenomenon was not as massive as happened in London or in American cities. These tendencies are controversial, and the current city administration is trying to reverse them.

Related Topics:
Gentrification - London

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As a matter of fact, as of February 2004 estimates, the population of the city reached 2,142,800 inhabitants, increasing for the first time since 1954. As for the metropolitan area, it reached approximately 11.5 million inhabitants in 2004, growing twice faster in the 2000s than in the 1990s. The metropolitan area of Paris has been in continuous expansion since the end of the French Wars of Religion at the end of the 16th century (with only brief setbacks during the French Revolution and World War II).

Related Topics:
French Wars of Religion - French Revolution - World War II

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As can be seen from the figures, only 18.5% of the inhabitants of the metropolitan area of Paris live inside the city of Paris, while 81.5% live in the suburbs. Visitors to Paris, who mostly stay inside the city, are usually not aware that 81.5% of "Parisians" actually live outside of the city itself, in its very extended suburbs. A majority of Parisians also work outside of the city proper: at the 1999 census, there were 5,089,179 jobs in the metropolitan area of Paris, 32.5% of which were located in the city of Paris proper, while 67.5% were located outside of the city. These peculiar facts are due to the conservativeness of French administrative limits (see Geography section above).

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For comparisons, in the metropolitan area of London, approximately 60% of people live inside Greater London proper (2001 census), while in the New York-Newark-Bridgeport metropolitan area, 37.8% of people live inside New York City (2000 census). Even in the Los Angeles-Riverside-Orange County metropolitan area, 22.6% of people live inside the city of Los Angeles proper. Paris can be more rightly compared to the San Francisco Bay Area, where only 11% of inhabitants live inside the city of San Francisco proper. However, unlike in the San Francisco Bay Area, there is no city inside the metropolitan area of Paris that rivals Paris, the largest city (commune) after Paris being Boulogne-Billancourt, with only 108,300 inhabitants in 2004.

Related Topics:
London - Greater London - New York-Newark-Bridgeport metropolitan area - New York City - Los Angeles-Riverside-Orange County metropolitan area - Los Angeles - San Francisco Bay Area - San Francisco - Commune - Boulogne-Billancourt

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As a result of this peculiar situation, there are those in France who warn against a so-called "muséification" of the city of Paris. Already, all airports are located outside of the city, the largest financial and business district (La Défense) is outside of the city, the main food wholesale market (Rungis) providing food for the whole metropolitan area is outside of the city, major renowned schools (École Polytechnique, HEC, INSEAD, etc.) are outside of the city, world famous research laboratories (in Saclay or Évry) are outside of the city, the largest sport stadium (Stade de France) is outside of the city, and even some ministries (Ministry of Transportation) are now located outside of the city of Paris proper, not to mention the National Archives of France, which are due to relocate to the northern suburbs before 2010.

Related Topics:
La Défense - Rungis - École Polytechnique - HEC - INSEAD - Saclay - Évry - Stade de France - National Archives of France

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It is feared that the city of Paris is turning into an embalmed museum, with tourists and Amélies nostalgists as its only denizens, while the real economic activity and 21st century development take place elsewhere in the metropolitan area. With some of the most stringent protection laws in the world, it is virtually impossible to build new buildings inside the city. Recent proposals by Paris' new mayor, Bertrand Delanoë, who is proposing to gather the most renowned architects in the world to build skyscrapers on the outskirts of the city center (but inside the city proper), have been met with strong opposition on all sides. The mayor wished to scrap the cap on building height dating back to Haussmann in the 19th century, and thus build tall in order to compensate for the lack of space on the ground, such as was done in Manhattan. The project was also meant to give a new image and fame to Paris in the 21st century, rivaling world cities like Shanghai, or even London where city planners have started building aesthetically acclaimed skyscrapers inside the City. The probable failure of the mayor's project is already interpreted by some as yet another sign of the "muséificication" of the city of Paris.

Related Topics:
Amélie - Bertrand Delanoë - Haussmann - Manhattan - Shanghai - City

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Historical population

For complete tables, see: Historical population

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Immigration

The metropolitan area of Paris is one of the most multi-cultural in Europe. At the 1999 census, 19.4% of the total population of the metropolitan area were born outside of metropolitan France.

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As a comparison: at the 2001 UK census, 19.5% of the total population of the metropolitan area of London was born outside of the (metropolitan) United Kingdom, while at the 2000 US census 27.5% of the total population of the New York-Newark-Bridgeport metropolitan area was born outside of the United States (50 states), and 31.9% of the total population of the Los Angeles-Riverside-Orange County metropolitan area was born outside of the United States (50 states).

Related Topics:
London - New York-Newark-Bridgeport metropolitan area - Los Angeles-Riverside-Orange County metropolitan area

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Still at the 1999 French census, 4.2% of the total population of the metropolitan area of Paris were recent migrants (i.e. people who were not living in France in 1990). The most recent immigrants to Paris come essentially from mainland China and from Africa.

Related Topics:
Mainland China - Africa

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