Ile-de-France | History, Geography, & Points of Interest

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Île-de-France is bounded by the <em>régions</em> of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Hauts-de-France" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Hauts-de-France</a> to the north, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Grand-Est" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Grand Est</a> to the east, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Bourgogne-Franche-Comte" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Bourgogne-Franche-Comté</a> to the southeast, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Centre-region-France" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Centre</a> to the south, and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Normandy" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Normandy</a> to the northwest. The capital is <span id="ref886381"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Paris" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Paris</a>. Area 4,637 square miles (12,011 square km). Pop. (1999) 10,952,011; (2014 est.) 12,027,565.</p><span class="marker MOD1 mod-inline"></span></section> <span class="marker h2"></span><section data-level="1" id="ref253122"><h2 class="h1">Geography</h2> <span class="marker PREMOD2 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">The <em>région</em> lies in the centre of the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Paris-Basin" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Paris Basin</a> and consists of limestone plains with a gently rolling relief. The principal rivers are the Seine and its tributaries—the Marne, Oise, and Aisne.</p><span class="marker MOD2 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD3 mod-inline"></span><div class="assemblies"><div class="w-100"><figure class="md-assembly m-0 mb-md-0 card card-borderless print-false" data-assembly-id="203677" data-asm-type="image"><div class="md-assembly-wrapper card-media" data-type="image"><a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/41/182741-050-C7EFCCFD/Baron-Haussmann-modernization-plan-areas-boulevards-addition.jpg" class="gtm-assembly-link position-relative d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center media-overlay-link card-media" data-href="/media/1/282708/203677"><picture><source media="(min-width: 680px)" srcset="https://cdn.britannica.com/41/182741-050-C7EFCCFD/Baron-Haussmann-modernization-plan-areas-boulevards-addition.jpg?w=300"><img src="https://cdn.britannica.com/41/182741-050-C7EFCCFD/Baron-Haussmann-modernization-plan-areas-boulevards-addition.jpg?w=300" alt="Paris" data-width="1600" data-height="979" loading="eager"></picture><button class="magnifying-glass btn btn-circle position-absolute shadow btn-white top-10 right-10" aria-label="Zoom in"><em class="material-icons link-blue" data-icon="zoom_in"></em></button></a></div><figcaption class="card-body"><div class="md-assembly-caption text-muted font-14 font-serif line-clamp"><span><a class="gtm-assembly-link md-assembly-title font-weight-bold d-inline font-sans-serif mr-5 media-overlay-link" href="https://cdn.britannica.com/41/182741-050-C7EFCCFD/Baron-Haussmann-modernization-plan-areas-boulevards-addition.jpg" data-href="/media/1/282708/203677">Paris</a><span>Baron Haussmann's modernization plan transformed many areas of Paris through the addition of wider boulevards, better lighting and water sanitation, new parks, and improved rail transportation.</span><button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-white js-content" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"><span class="link-blue">(more)</span></button></span></div></figcaption></figure></div></div><p class="topic-paragraph">Île-de-France is the most densely populated <em>région</em> in France. In the century between 1850 and 1950, when most areas of France were losing population, Paris attracted migrants from all over the country, as well as a large number of immigrants. Île-de-France had a fourfold growth in population between 1850 and 1968. Since the 1960s, natural increase has remained strong, because of the <em>région</em>’s youthful population, but growth has slowed, largely as a result of migrational loss. There has been an internal redistribution in the <em>région</em> as people have moved from the congestion and expense of the inner districts of the capital to the outer suburbs and <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="adjacent" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/adjacent" data-type="MW">adjacent</a> small towns where housing costs are lower and jobs have been relocated or created. Many of the <em>communes</em> belonging to Île-de-France are still classified as rural despite their proximity to Paris.</p><div class="module-spacing"> </div><span class="marker MOD3 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD4 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">The <em>région</em>’s fertile loams support the cultivation of wheat, corn (maize), barley, sunflowers, rapeseed, legumes, and sugar beets. Fruit, vegetables, and flowers are also grown. In Val-d’Oise between <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Pontoise" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Pontoise</a> and Montmorency, mushrooms are grown on a large scale in limestone caves. Owing to the great <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/urban-sprawl" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">urban sprawl</a> of Paris, agriculture is concentrated in the outer areas of Île-de-France, particularly in the <em>département</em> of Seine-et-Marne. In general, farm holdings are large, highly mechanized, and produce high <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="yields" href="https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/yields" data-type="EB">yields</a>, yet they employ only a very small percentage of the workforce.</p><span class="marker MOD4 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD5 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Île-de-France dominates economic activity in France, despite successive attempts to encourage businesses in other parts of the country. The <em>région</em> is the country’s preeminent decision-making centre, in both the public and private sectors. It remains a major industrial hub, although employment is concentrated overwhelmingly in the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/money/service-industry" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">service sector</a>. In industry, major activities include printing and publishing; food processing; and the manufacturing of electrical and electronic goods, automobiles, pharmaceuticals, and mechanical products. Industry is not spread equally throughout. The centre of the <em>région</em> has lost most of its industries, and inner <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="suburbs" href="https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/suburbs" data-type="EB">suburbs</a> in Seine-Saint-Denis, Val-de-Marne, and Hauts-de-Seine have experienced factory closures. As a result, industry has become concentrated in the outer urban areas and especially in the five new towns developed since the 1960s: <span id="ref886382"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Evry" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Évry</a>, <span id="ref886383"></span>Marne-la-Vallée, <span id="ref886384"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Senart" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Sénart</a>, <span id="ref886385"></span>Cergy-Pontoise, and <span id="ref886386"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines" class="md-crosslink ">Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines</a>.</p><span class="marker MOD5 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD6 mod-inline"></span><div class="assemblies"><div class="w-100"><figure class="md-assembly m-0 mb-md-0 card card-borderless print-false" data-assembly-id="13827" data-asm-type="image"><div class="md-assembly-wrapper card-media" data-type="image"><a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/89/3789-050-9F4A09AB/world-headquarters-Bouygues-Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines-France-Kevin-Roche.jpg" class="gtm-assembly-link position-relative d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center media-overlay-link card-media" data-href="/media/1/282708/13827"><picture><source media="(min-width: 680px)" srcset="https://cdn.britannica.com/89/3789-050-9F4A09AB/world-headquarters-Bouygues-Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines-France-Kevin-Roche.jpg?w=300"><img src="https://cdn.britannica.com/89/3789-050-9F4A09AB/world-headquarters-Bouygues-Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines-France-Kevin-Roche.jpg?w=300" alt="Bouygues world headquarters, Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, France, designed by Kevin Roche John Dinkeloo and Associates." data-width="1600" data-height="1076" loading="eager"></picture><button class="magnifying-glass btn btn-circle position-absolute shadow btn-white top-10 right-10" aria-label="Zoom in"><em class="material-icons link-blue" data-icon="zoom_in"></em></button></a></div><figcaption class="card-body"><div class="md-assembly-caption text-muted font-14 font-serif line-clamp"><span><a class="gtm-assembly-link md-assembly-title font-weight-bold d-inline font-sans-serif mr-5 media-overlay-link" href="https://cdn.britannica.com/89/3789-050-9F4A09AB/world-headquarters-Bouygues-Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines-France-Kevin-Roche.jpg" data-href="/media/1/282708/13827">Bouygues world headquarters, Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, France, designed by Kevin Roche John Dinkeloo and Associates.</a><button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-white js-content" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"><span class="link-blue">(more)</span></button></span></div></figcaption></figure></div></div><p class="topic-paragraph">Office-based employment predominates in the centre and inner suburbs, especially to the west, in the <em>département</em> of Hauts-de-Seine. In Essonne, around Saclay and Orsay, many <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/higher-education" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">higher education</a> and research facilities have been established, with the <em>région</em> accounting for more than 40 percent of France’s employment in this field. Île-de-France is renowned for the large number of <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="corporate" href="https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/corporate" data-type="EB">corporate</a> headquarters located both in Paris and in the business district known as La Défense, just west of Neuilly.</p><span class="marker MOD6 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD7 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">The <em>région</em> is a major tourist destination for international visitors. Of historical interest are the châteaus of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Versailles-France" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Versailles</a>, Mantes-la-Jolie, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Rambouillet-France" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Rambouillet</a>, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Fontainebleau" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Fontainebleau</a>, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Vaux-le-Vicomte" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Vaux-le-Vicomte</a>, and Champs. A large Disneyland theme park in Marne-la-Vallée also is a significant tourist draw.</p><div class="module-spacing"> <DIV class="marketing-INLINE_SUBSCRIPTION marketing-content" data-marketing-id="INLINE_SUBSCRIPTION"><style> .student-promo-banner-wrapper { container-type: inline-size; margin-bottom: 15px; } @container (min-width: 475px) { .student-promo-banner { flex-direction: row; } .student-promo-banner-img-wrapper { margin-bottom: 0; margin-right: 10px; justify-content: flex-start; } .student-promo-banner-text-wrapper { text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 10px; } .student-promo-banner-button-wrapper { margin-right: 0; } }</style> <div class="student-promo-banner-wrapper"> <div class="student-promo-banner d-flex flex-column align-items-center bg-blue rounded p-20"> <div class="student-promo-banner-img-wrapper mb-20 mr-0 d-flex justify-content-center"> <img class="rounded" style="max-width: 100px; min-width: 80px" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/marketing/BlueThistle.webp" /> </div> <div class="student-promo-banner-text-wrapper ml-0 mb-10 text-center text-white"> <div class="h2 mb-10">Get Unlimited Access</div> <div class="h4 font-weight-semi-bold">Try Britannica Premium for free and discover more.</div> </div> <div class="student-promo-banner-button-wrapper d-flex justify-content-center align-items-center ml-auto mr-auto"> <a class="btn btn-m btn-orange" href="https://premium.britannica.com/premium-membership/?utm_source=premium&utm_medium=inline-cta&utm_campaign=august-2024">Subscribe</a> </div> </div> </div> </DIV></div><span class="marker MOD7 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD8 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph"> Île-de-France is the focus of France’s various communications networks. Apart from its numerous motorways and rail links, it has a series of port zones along the Seine and Marne. Within the <em>région</em> the central areas of Paris are served by the Métro (underground railway), while a newer express line (Réseau Express Régional; RER) extends into the Parisian suburbs. There are two international airports, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Charles-de-Gaulle-president-of-France" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Charles de Gaulle</a> and Orly.</p><span class="marker MOD8 mod-inline"></span></section> <span class="marker h3"></span><section data-level="1" id="ref253123"><h2 class="h1">History</h2> <span class="marker PREMOD9 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">The area around Paris was originally known as <span id="ref176947"></span>Francia, from which the name of France was <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="derived" href="https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/derived" data-type="EB">derived</a>. Under the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Merovingian-dynasty" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Merovingians</a> (476–750), Francia meant the region between the Rhine and the Seine rivers; it was restricted under the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Carolingian-dynasty" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Carolingians</a> to the country bounded by the Aisne, Oise, and Seine rivers. In the 10th and 11th centuries it signified only the territory limited by the Seine, the Marne, the Beuvronne, the Oise, and the Nonette. It was from the nucleus of this territory that <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Hugh-Capet" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Hugh Capet</a>, who became king of France in 987, and his successors consolidated the authority of the monarchy and thereby created the modern French state.</p><span class="marker MOD9 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD10 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">In the Middle Ages, <em>île</em> (“island”) often designated areas more or less bounded by rivers but was not given specifically to “France” before 1387. The name is not found in written documents before 1429. In the second half of the 15th century, however, it designated a wide military province of government, bounded on the north by <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Picardy" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Picardy</a>, the west by Normandy, the south by <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Orleanais" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Orléanais</a> and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Nivernais" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Nivernais</a>, and the east by Champagne. Its capital was Paris.</p><div class="one-good-fact-module"> </div><span class="marker MOD10 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD11 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">In the 16th century the <em>gouvernement</em> of Île-de-France was <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="constituted" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/constituted" data-type="MW">constituted</a> under a <em>gouverneur</em>, or a lieutenant of the king. In the 18th century it was divided between the <em>généralités</em>, or intendances, of Paris and Soissons. During the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/French-Revolution" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">French Revolution</a>, Île-de-France was divided into <em>départements</em>. At the end of the 20th century, the <em>régions</em> and their corresponding <em>départements</em> served similar administrative functions.</p><span class="marker MOD11 mod-inline"></span></section> <span class="md-signature font-12">This article was most recently revised and updated by <a href="/editor/JE-Luebering/6492">J.E. 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Ile-de-France | History, Geography, & Points of Interest | Britannica