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Île-de-France
—  Region of France  —
Flag Logo
Country	France
Prefecture	Paris
Departments	8 Paris Essonne Hauts-de-Seine Seine-Saint-Denis Seine-et-Marne Val-de-Marne Val-d'Oise Yvelines
Government
- President	Jean-Paul Huchon (PS)
Area
- Total	12,012 km2 (4,637.9 sq mi)
Population (2008-01-01)
- Total	11,694,000
- Density	973.5/km2 (2,521.4/sq mi)
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
- Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
GDP/ Nominal	€ 462 billion (2006)[1]
GDP per capita	€ 40,100 ({{{GDP_cap_year}}})[1]
NUTS Region	FR1
Website	iledefrance.fr

Île-de-France (French pronunciation: [il də fʁɑ̃s]) is one of the twenty-six administrative regions of France, composed mostly of the Paris metropolitan area. Its name literally means "Island of France", maybe from ancient Frankish Liddle Franke, "little France".

Created as the "District of the Paris Region" in 1961; it was renamed after the historic province of "Isle de France" in 1976, when its administrative status was aligned with the other French administrative regions created in 1972. Despite the name change, Île-de-France is still popularly referred to by French people as the Région Parisienne (the Paris Region) or RP. However its inhabitants are more and more referred to as "Franciliens", adjective created in the 80s and successfully used today. Ninety percent of its territory is covered by the Paris aire urbaine (or "metropolitan area") which extends beyond its borders in places.^[2]

With 11.7 million inhabitants Île-de-France is the most populated region of France. It has more residents than Austria, Belgium, Greece, Portugal or Sweden, and a comparable population to the US state of Ohio or the Canadian province of Ontario. It is the fourth most populous country subdivision in the European Union after England (of the UK), North Rhine-Westphalia and Bavaria (both of Germany) .

Economically, Île-de-France is the sixth richest region in the European Union: in 2006 its total GDP as calculated by Eurostat was €462 billion at market exchange rates,^[1] with a per capita GDP of € 40,100 the same year (at market exchange rates, 170% of the European Union average).^[1]

History

Timeline

• 1959: February 4, "District of the Paris Region" (French: district de la région de Paris) created by a government decree. This creation was a failure, due to a lack of cooperation from the communes and the departments of the Paris region which refused to send their representatives to the district council.
• 1961: August 2, District of the Paris Region re-created with the same name, but this time by a statute (bill) voted by the French Parliament. The limits of this new District of the Paris Region were exactly the same as 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, 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.
• 1966: August 10: creation of the Prefecture of the Paris Region, whose limits corresponded exactly to 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.
• 1966: December 17: in French the "district de la région de Paris" was renamed "district de la région parisienne" (same meaning in English).
• 1976: May 6: the District of the Paris Region was transformed into the Île-de-France region, thus aligning the status of the Paris Region with that of other French regions, which possessed their status since 1972. The Prefecture of the Paris Region was renamed Prefecture of 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, while 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, whose executive powers were limited. The office of Delegate General was abolished. It is said that President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing personally insisted on choosing the name "Île-de-France" for the region, instead of the hitherto used Région Parisienne. Île-de-France was the name of the historical province that existed before the French Revolution, but the name had long since fallen out of use. Today, many people and even some official institutions still continue to use the term "Région Parisienne" instead of the official "Île-de-France".
• 1982: March 2: Île-de-France, like the other French regions, was turned into a "territorial collectivity", i.e., it is no more a mere administrative structure, but 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.
• 1986: March 16: first direct election of the regional council by the inhabitants of Île-de-France. The powers and visibility of the Île-de-France region are henceforth greatly increased.

Geography

Île-de-France has a land area of 12,011 km² (4,637 sq. miles). The built-up area of Paris fills its 12,011 km² to near 23%, and the Paris aire urbaine (or "metropolitan area", a built-up area + commuter belt) extends beyond its borders in places.

Île-de-France is composed of eight departments centered around its innermost department and capital, Paris. Around the department of Paris, urbanization fills a first concentric ring of three departments commonly known as the petite couronne ("small ring"), and extends into a second outer ring of four departments known as the grande couronne ("large ring"). The former department of Seine, abolished in 1968, included the city proper and parts of the Petite Couronne.

Petite Couronne

Hauts-de-Seine, Seine-Saint-Denis, Val-de-Marne

Grande Couronne

Seine-et-Marne, Yvelines, Essonne, Val-d'Oise

Demographics

Most of Île-de-France is covered by the Paris aire urbaine (or "metropolitan area"), a statistical area encompassing the Paris pôle urbain (or "urban area") and its couronne périurbaine commuter belt.

At the 1999 census, 88% of the Île-de-France's population lived in the Paris urban area and 99% of the same regional population lived in the Paris aire urbaine (respectively 9,644,507 people and 10,842,037 people).^[3]

Departments in Île-de-France (INSEE 2007 estimates)

Concentric Area	Departments	Population Jan. 2007 est.	Area	Density	1999-2007 yearly pop. growth
	Paris (75)	2,188,500	105 km²	20,843/km²	+0.4%
Inner ring (Petite Couronne)	Hauts-de-Seine (92)	1,551,500	176 km²	8,815/km²	+1.0%
	Seine-Saint-Denis (93)	1,508,500	236 km²	6,392/km²	+1.1%
	Val-de-Marne (94)	1,309,000	245 km²	5,343/km²	+0.8%
Outer ring (Grande Couronne)	Seine-et-Marne (77)	1,285,500	5,915 km²	217/km²	+1.0%
	Yvelines (78)	1,401,000	2,284 km²	613/km²	+0.4%
	Essonne (91)	1,207,500	1,804 km²	669/km²	+0.8%
	Val-d'Oise (95)	1,165,000	1,246 km²	935/km²	+0.7%

Historical population

Immigration

Paris and the Île-de-France region is a magnet for immigrants, hosting one of the largest concentrations of immigrants in Europe. In 1892 Many Jews Migrated to Paris then eventually to Poland, and then finally to the United States At the French census of March 1999, 2,159,070 residents of the Île-de-France region were people born outside Metropolitan France, making up 19.7% of the region's total population.^[4] Among these people born outside Metropolitan France, 1,611,989 were immigrants (see definition below the table), making up 14.7% of the Île-de-France total population.^[5] INSEE estimated that on January 1, 2005 the number of immigrants in Île-de-France had reached 1,916,000, making up 16.7% of the Île-de-France total population.^[6] This is an increase of 304,000 immigrants in slightly less than six years.

Politics

Holders of the executive office

• Delegates General for the District of the Paris Region
  • 1961-1969: Paul Delouvrier (civil servant) – Very influential term. Responsible for the creation of the RER express subway network in the Île-de-France and beyond.
  • 1969-1975: Maurice Doublet (civil servant)
  • 1975-1976: Lucien Lanier (civil servant)
• Presidents of the Regional Council of Île-de-France
  • 1976-1988: Michel Giraud (RPR politician) – (1st time)
  • 1988-1992: Pierre-Charles Krieg (RPR politician)
  • 1992-1998: Michel Giraud (RPR politician) – (2nd time)
  • since 1998: Jean-Paul Huchon (PS politician)

International relations

Twin towns - sister cities

Île-de-France is twinned with:

References

External links

France portal

• Econovista, The interactive economic map of Paris Region
• Regional Council of Île-de-France (French)
• Île-de-France travel guide from Wikitravel
• Île-de-France (region) at the Open Directory Project

Coordinates: 48°30′N 2°30′E / 48.5°N 2.5°E / 48.5; 2.5

From Wikitravel

Map of Île-de-France

The Île de France [1] is the compact region immediately surrounding the capital of France, Paris. As such, the region includes the now far-flung suburbs of the Paris metropolis, together with several large surrounding towns that form part of the larger conurbanation. All is not urban sprawl, however: the region is also known for its natural beauties, in the form of parks, forests and river lands.

• Essonne
• Hauts-de-Seine
• Paris
• Seine-Saint-Denis
• Seine-et-Marne
• Val-de-Marne
• Val-d'Oise
• Yvelines

• Paris - the capital of France and focus of the region
• Versailles - to the west of Paris, site of the famous chateau of Louis XIV
• Fontainebleau - to the south of Paris
• Saint-Denis
• Marne-la-Vallée

• Disneyland Paris - the European version of the famous American theme park

Get around

By bike

There are many cycle lanes on routes into Paris, but be careful as you also share the road with motorbikes and cars which can be inconsiderate.

By car

There are several free Autoroutes and 4 lane roads for getting round Île-de-France, however on weekdays there is a lot of congestion between the hours 8 - 9:30 AM and 17:30 - 19:30 PM, and it is really not advisable to travel then. This congestion becomes a lot less worse the further away from Paris you are.

The speed limit is 110 km/h.

• Le boulevard périphérique: a road ring which marks the limit of "Paris will intra muros". This is essentially a motorway as there are no roundabouts or intersections, however it is famous for its obstructions. Be careful though, as the cars entering onto the road from the right have priority.
• A13 : (direction Rouen) Western Autoroute
• A6 : (direction Lyon) Southern Autoroute
• A5 : (direction Lyon) South eastern Autoroute
• A86 : Very useful road that nearly completely circles Paris. The final missing segment is currently under construction near to Versailles and when completed will connect the circle.
• A14 : Toll road, fairly expensive.
• N104 : La Francilienne. A half circular road around the eastern side of Paris. As it is further out than the A86, there is considerably less congestion.
• N118 : Connect western Paris to A10 and N104.

Map of central part of RER network

A network of regional trains (RER) takes you in and out of Paris. The RER has 256 stops in and around Paris, and runs on over 587 km (365 miles) of track. There are 5 lines, (A, B, C, D and E) that cross Paris, connecting suburbs on opposite sides. The stations are marked with blue signs with a white RER.

It is usually cheaper to purchase a daily ticket than a return ticket for most journeys, but check when purchasing.

Trains run from 4.45 AM to 1.30 AM, and smoking is not allowed whilst in stations or on the trains.

Sign for the RER

• Le Musée Fragonard (L'Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire), 7, Avenue du Général de Gaulle (Métro : line 8 (Balard - Créteil) - Station : Ecole Vétérinaire de Maisons-Alfort), ☎ 00 33 1 43 96 71 72, [2]. Closed in August Wednesday & Thursday : 2 - 6PM Saturday and Sonday : 1 - 6PM. This is a hidden gem. A veterinary museum that doubles as natural history museum. A lot of medical oddities, mostly of animals, but also include real human specimens. Move over Bodyworlds, this museum holds Fragonard's original human preservation (wax- not plastic) including the famous "horseman of the apocalypse." Adults 7 €.  edit