Province of Île-de-France | |
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Capital | Paris |
Demonym | Francie France |
• Type | General Government |
The Île-de-France is a province of France encompassing the north-central departments of Val-d’Oise, Seine-et-Marne, Seine-Saint-Denis, Ville-de-Paris, Hauts-de-Seine, Val-de-Marne, Essonne, and Yvelines. It is bounded by the regions of Picardy (Picardie) to the north, Champagne-Ardenne to the east, Burgundy (Bourgogne) to the southeast, Centre to the south, and Haute-Normandie to the northwest. Its capital is Paris and it has an area of 4,637 square miles (12,011 square km), and a population of 11,491,000 (2006).
The region lies in the center of the Paris Basin and consists of limestone plains with a gently rolling relief. Its principal rivers are the Seine and its tributaries, the Marne, Oise and Aisne. The province of Île-de-France encompasses the north-central territories of Val-d’Oise, Seine-et-Marne, Seine-Saint-Denis, Ville-de-Paris (Paris), Hauts-de-Seine, Val-de-Marne, Essonne and Yvelines. Some parts of the historic province are now incorporated into the present-day region of Hauts-de-France, while other parts of the present-day région Île-de-France are taken from the historic province of Champagne. See French history. [1]
The history of Île-de-France (Isle of France) dates back to the medieval period. The name Isle de France is first recorded in 1387, when the term "France" designated certain crown territories. Literally, the name "Island of France" was derived from its being bordered by the rivers Seine, Oise and Marne (tributaries of the Seine) and Beuvronne (a tributary of the Marne), which surround it like an island.[ citation needed ]
The name may also inherit from the Frankish Lidle Franke / Lilde Franke, or, "little France", [2] but that theory does not hold, given that Frankish had long been an extinct language when the term first appeared in French.
The area around Paris was the original personal domain of the king of France, as opposed to areas ruled by feudal lords of whom he was the suzerain or sovereign. This is reflected by divisions such as the Véxin Français and the Véxin Normand, the former being within the King of France's domain, the latter being within the Duke of Normandy's fief.
Known as Lutetia (Lutece) in ancient times, Paris was conquered by Julius Caesar in 52 BC and existed as a regional center under the Romans and in the early Middle Ages. In 987, Hugh Capet, Count of Paris, became king of France, and under his successors, the Capetians, the city's position as the nation's capital became established.
Often characterized as spirited and rebellious, the people of Paris first declared themselves an independent commune under the leadership of Etienne Marcel in 1355–58. The storming of the Bastille in 1789 was the first of a series of key actions by the Parisian people during the French revolution. Paris also played a major role in the revolutions of 1830 and 1848. In 1871, during the Franco-Prussian war, the city was besieged for four months until France surrendered. After German troops withdrew, French radicals briefly established the commune of Paris. During World War I the Germans were prevented from reaching Paris, but they occupied the city during World War II from 1940 to 1944. Paris was again the scene of violence during the student riots of 1968.
Paris today maintains its importance, character, and charm, though its appearance is being transformed by structures such as Beaubourg and by the ambitious building program carried out under the presidency of François Mitterrand. In addition to the La Défense arch and the Bastille Opéra, Mitterrand's projects have included the renovation of the Louvre museum by architect I. M. Pei, the La Villette complex on the northeastern edge of the city, and, in the southeast, the Bibliothèque de France, a great computer-age library.
Planning for Paris and the Paris Basin region includes consideration of large land areas in the Seine River valley all the way to the mouth of the river. New towns, parks, industrial locations, and expanded functions of existing towns are contemplated for this corridor on both sides of the Seine.
On 4 February 1959, the District of the Paris Region (district de la région de Paris) was created by a government decree. Due to a lack of cooperation from the communes and the departments of the region, who refused to send their representatives to the district council, it was deemed a failure.
The District of the Paris Region was recreated on 2 August 1961 with the same name, but this time by a statute (bill) voted by the French Parliament. The borders of this new region were coterminous with those of the current Île-de-France region. The district council of the aborted 1959 District of the Paris Region was replaced by a Board of Trustees, half of whose members were appointed by the French government, and the other half by the local communes and departments. The executive of the district was a civil servant, the Delegate General for the District of the Paris Region, appointed by the French government.
On 10 August 1966, the Prefectures of the Paris Region were created, whose borders were coterminous with those of the District (and to that of the current Île-de-France region). The Delegate General for the District of the Paris Region was made Prefect of the Paris Region, holding both offices at the same time. The district was renamed from "district de la région de Paris" to "district de la région parisienne" on 17 December 1966.
The District of the Paris Region was reconstituted into the Île-de-France region on 6 May 1976, thus aligning the status of the region with that of the other French regions, created in 1972. The Prefecture of the Paris Region was renamed Prefecture of Île-de-France (Préfecture de L'Île-de-France). The former Board of Trustees was replaced by a regional council, 70% of whose members were the representatives of the departments and communes of Île-de-France. The remaining 30% were chosen by the Members of the French Parliament whose constituencies lay inside Île-de-France. The regional council elected a president with limited executive powers. The office of Delegate General was abolished. It was said that President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing personally insisted on choosing the name "Île-de-France" for the region, instead of the previously-used Région Parisienne.
On 2 March 1982, Île-de-France, like the other French regions, was turned into a "territorial collectivity". In other words, it was changed from an administrative region of the state to a full-fledged political entity, on par with the departments and communes. The powers of the regions were expanded, direct elections of the regional councils were scheduled, and the presidents of the regional councils were given full executive powers.
The first direct election of the regional council by the inhabitants of Île-de-France was held on 16 March 1986. The powers and visibility of the region were henceforth greatly increased as the process of devolution and regionalisation increased.
The Île-de-Province was divided into several sub-provinces (French: pays ). They were not administrative areas, but historic and cultural areas going back to the Western Roman Empire and readily identified by their inhabitants. Below is a list of the pays which made up the Île-de-France province, with their principal cities:
Hauts-de-Seine is a department in the Île-de-France region of France. It covers Paris's western inner suburbs. It is bordered by Paris, Seine-Saint-Denis and Val-de-Marne to the east, Val-d'Oise to the north, Yvelines to the west and Essonne to the south. With a population of 1,624,357 and a total area of 176 square kilometres, it has the second highest population density among all departments of France, after Paris. It is the fifth most populous department in France. Its prefecture is Nanterre, but Boulogne-Billancourt, one of its two subprefectures, alongside Antony, has a larger population.
In France, a prefecture may be:
Yvelines is a department in the western part of the Île-de-France region in Northern France. In 2019, it had a population of 1,448,207. Its prefecture is Versailles, home to the Palace of Versailles, the principal residence of the King of France from 1682 until 1789, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1979. Yvelines' subprefectures are Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Mantes-la-Jolie and Rambouillet.
Oise is a department in the north of France. It is named after the river Oise. Inhabitants of the department are called Oisiens or Isariens, after the Latin name for the river, Isara. It had a population of 829,419 in 2019.
Seine-et-Marne is a department in the Île-de-France region in Northern France. Named after the rivers Seine and Marne, it is the region's largest department with an area of 5,915 square kilometres ; it roughly covers its eastern half. In 2019, it had a population of 1,421,197. Its prefecture is Melun, although both Meaux and Chelles have larger populations.
Essonne is a department in the southern part of the Île-de-France region in Northern France. It is named after the river Essonne. In 2019, it had a population of 1,301,659, across 194 communes.
Seine-Saint-Denis is a department of France located in the Grand Paris metropolis in the Île-de-France region. In French, it is often referred to colloquially as quatre-vingt treize or neuf trois, after its official administrative number, 93. Its prefecture is Bobigny.
Val-de-Marne is a department of France located in the Île-de-France region. Named after the river Marne, it is situated in the Grand Paris metropolis to the southeast of the City of Paris. In 2019, Val-de-Marne had a population of 1,407,124.
Val-d'Oise is a department in the Île-de-France region, Northern France. It was created in 1968 following the split of the Seine-et-Oise department. In 2019, Val-d'Oise had a population of 1,249,674.
Seine-et-Oise is a former department of France, which encompassed the western, northern and southern parts of the metropolitan area of Paris. Its prefecture was Versailles and its administrative number was 78. Seine-et-Oise was disbanded in 1968 as part of the reorganisation of the departments of the Paris metropolitan area. The newly created Yvelines department inherited the 78 number.
The Île-de-France is the most populous of the eighteen regions of France, with an official estimated population of 12,271,794 residents on 1 January 2023. Centred on the capital Paris, it is located in the north-central part of the country and often called the Paris Region. Île-de-France is densely populated and retains a prime economic position on the national stage, and it covers 12,012 square kilometres, about 2% of metropolitan French territory. Its 2017 population was nearly one-fifth of the national total.
This gallery of French coats of arms shows the coats of arms of the Provinces, Regions, and Departments of France and certain French cities. They are used to visually identify historical and present-day regions, as well as cities, within France.
The Paris Chamber of Commerce is a chamber of commerce of the Paris region. It defends the interests of companies of the city of Paris, and provides services to these companies. Since 2013 it has been a division of the Paris Île-de-France Regional Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Hédouville is a commune in the Val-d'Oise department in Île-de-France in northern France.
Hodent is a commune in the Val-d'Oise department and Île-de-France region of France. It is located in the regional nature park of Vexin.
Maudétour-en-Vexin is a commune in the Val-d'Oise department in Île-de-France in northern France. It is located in the regional nature park of Vexin.
Omerville is a commune in the Val-d'Oise department and Île-de-France region of France. It is located in the regional nature park of Vexin.
The Metropolis of Greater Paris, also known as Greater Paris, is a métropole covering the City of Paris and its nearest surrounding suburbs that was created from Sarkozy's renovation of the city.
In France, the versement transport is a hypothecated urban regional payroll tax levied on the total gross salaries of all employees of companies of more than 11 employees, originally intended to raise capital for investment in local public transport infrastructure, but more and more used to cover its operating expenses. The tax is levied on the employer, not the employee directly. The money is directed to the autorité organisatrice de transport urbain, the local government authority responsible for organising public transport.
The Paris Île-de-France Regional Chamber of Commerce and Industry is a French chamber of commerce that supports businesses in Paris and the Île-de-France, created on 1 January 2013 through a merger of several smaller chambers of commerce.
http://www.regions-of-france.com/regions/paris_ile_de_france/history/