[26], The Romans conquered the Paris Basin in 52 BC and began their settlement on Paris' Left Bank. Paris is the département with the highest proportion of highly educated people. [139] At its origin, before the Middle Ages, the city was composed of several islands and sandbanks in a bend of the Seine; of those, two remain today: the Île Saint-Louis and the Île de la Cité. Eurostat places Paris (6.5 million people) behind London (8 million) and ahead of Berlin (3.5 million), based on the 2012 populations of what Eurostat calls "urban audit core cities".[163]. [150] Long-intended measures to unite Paris with its suburbs began on 1 January 2016, when the Métropole du Grand Paris came into existence. [12][13] The Musée d'Orsay, Musée Marmottan Monet, and Musée de l'Orangerie are noted for their collections of French Impressionist art. [5] Another source ranked Paris as most expensive, on a par with Singapore and Hong Kong, in 2018.[6][7]. Paris averages 1.9 people per residence, a number that has remained constant since the 1980s, but it is much less than Île-de-France's 2.33 person-per-residence average. [122][123], The new structure is administered by a Metropolitan Council of 210 members, not directly elected, but chosen by the councils of the member Communes. Twenty-five percent of residents in the 19th arrondissement lived below the poverty line; 24 percent in the 18th, 22 percent in the 20th and 18 percent in the 10th. [58], Late in the 19th century, Paris hosted two major international expositions: the 1889 Universal Exposition, was held to mark the centennial of the French Revolution and featured the new Eiffel Tower; and the 1900 Universal Exposition, which gave Paris the Pont Alexandre III, the Grand Palais, the Petit Palais and the first Paris Métro line. [16][17] According to Xavier Delamarre, it may derive from the root pario- ('cauldron'). [142] The 210 metres (690 ft) Tour Montparnasse was both Paris's and France's tallest building until 1973,[143] but this record has been held by the La Défense quarter Tour First tower in Courbevoie since its 2011 construction. [94] On 19 June, a man rammed his weapons-and-explosives-laden vehicle into a police van on the Champs-Élysées, but the car only burst into flames. [119] The council of each arrondissement is composed of members of the Conseil de Paris and also members who serve only on the council of the arrondissement. They are also pejoratively called Parigots ([paʁiɡo] (listen)). [228] The National Museum of Natural History located near the Jardin des plantes attracted two million visitors in 2018. An IFOP survey in 2008 reported that, of immigrants from these predominantly Muslim countries, 25 percent went to the mosque regularly; 41 percent practised the religion, and 34 percent were believers but did not practice the religion. 11:05 Paris UT+2, 95% [243] By 1870, Paris had become an important centre for symphony, ballet and operatic music. [71][72] On 25 August 1944, the city was liberated by the French 2nd Armoured Division and the 4th Infantry Division of the United States Army. The City of Paris is the centre and seat of government of the Île-de-France, or Paris Region, which has an estimated official 2020 population of 12,278,210, or about 18 percent of the population of France. Political violence is uncommon, though very large demonstrations may occur in Paris and other French cities simultaneously. [54], The population of Paris had dropped by 100,000 during the Revolution, but between 1799 and 1815, it surged with 160,000 new residents, reaching 660,000. By comparison, London in 1300 had 80,000 inhabitants.[38]. [221], For centuries, Paris has attracted artists from around the world, who arrive in the city to educate themselves and to seek inspiration from its vast pool of artistic resources and galleries. [103] Spring and autumn have, on average, mild days and fresh nights but are changing and unstable. [330] France 24 is a television news channel owned and operated by the French government, and is based in Paris. Some other yearly festivals are Paris-Plages, a festive event that lasts from mid-July to mid-August when the Right Bank of the Seine is converted into a temporary beach with sand, deck chairs and palm trees;[273] Journées du Patrimoine, Fête de la Musique, Techno Parade, Nuit Blanche, Cinéma au clair de lune, Printemps des rues, Festival d'automne, and Fête des jardins. More than half had been homeless for more than a year. [120], The Métropole du Grand Paris, or simply Grand Paris, formally came into existence on 1 January 2016. According to the 2012 census, 135,853 residents of the City of Paris were immigrants from Europe, 112,369 were immigrants from the Maghreb, 70,852 from sub-Saharan Africa and Egypt, 5,059 from Turkey, 91,297 from Asia (outside Turkey), 38,858 from the Americas, and 1,365 from the South Pacific. Paris hosts the annual French Open Grand Slam tennis tournament on the red clay of Roland Garros. These include piste cyclable (bike lanes separated from other traffic by physical barriers such as a kerb) and bande cyclable (a bicycle lane denoted by a painted path on the road). [183] Paris hosts the headquarters of the European Space Agency, the International Energy Agency, European Securities and Markets Authority and, as of 2019, the European Banking Authority. The Médiathèque Musicale Mahler in the 8th arrondissement opened in 1986 and contains collections related to music. [324] Some of the most famous people in the world are buried in Parisian cemeteries, such as Oscar Wilde and Serge Gainsbourg among others. During the reign of François I, in the Renaissance era, the lute became popular in the French court. [195], In 2018, Paris was the most expensive city in the world with Singapore and Hong Kong. In a consular emergency, if you can't contact an embassy, call the 24-hour Consular Emergency Centre on: +61 2 … The 80,000-seat Stade de France, built for the 1998 FIFA World Cup, is located just north of Paris in the commune of Saint-Denis. [17] The city's name is not related to the Paris of Greek mythology. [98] The city's last major annexation of outlying territories in 1860 not only gave it its modern form but also created the 20 clockwise-spiralling arrondissements (municipal boroughs). [224] Artists such as Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Vincent van Gogh, Paul Cézanne, Jean Metzinger, Albert Gleizes, Henri Rousseau, Marc Chagall, Amedeo Modigliani and many others became associated with Paris. During the Roman era, the city's main cemetery was located to the outskirts of the left bank settlement, but this changed with the rise of Catholic Christianity, where most every inner-city church had adjoining burial grounds for use by their parishes. This king made several improvements to the capital during his reign: he completed the construction of Paris' first uncovered, sidewalk-lined bridge, the Pont Neuf, built a Louvre extension connecting it to the Tuileries Palace, and created the first Paris residential square, the Place Royale, now Place des Vosges. [207] Generally speaking, incomes are higher in the Western part of the city and in the western suburbs than in the northern and eastern parts of the urban area. [145] The total number of residences in the City of Paris in 2011 was 1,356,074, up from a former high of 1,334,815 in 2006. [249], Immediately after the War the Saint-Germain-des-Pres quarter and the nearby Saint-Michel quarter became home to many small jazz clubs, mostly found in cellars because of a lack of space; these included the Caveau des Lorientais, the Club Saint-Germain, the Rose Rouge, the Vieux-Colombier, and the most famous, Le Tabou. [49], Paris was the centre of an explosion of philosophic and scientific activity known as the Age of Enlightenment. [159], In the Paris Region, 590,504 residents were immigrants from Europe, 627,078 were immigrants from the Maghreb, 435,339 from sub-Saharan Africa and Egypt, 69,338 from Turkey, 322,330 from Asia (outside Turkey), 113,363 from the Americas, and 2,261 from the South Pacific. [279] There are three public libraries in the 4th arrondissement. In 1929, the Bois de Boulogne and Bois de Vincennes forest parks were officially annexed to the city, bringing its area to about 105 km2 (41 sq mi). [30], Clovis the Frank, the first king of the Merovingian dynasty, made the city his capital from 508. [159] This concerns in particular the many Christians and Jews from North Africa who moved to France and Paris after the times of independence and are not counted as immigrants due to their being born French citizens. IMPORTANT - COVID-19 information for Paris. [12] Its treasures include the Mona Lisa (La Joconde), the Venus de Milo statue, Liberty Leading the People. [153] Many other suburban residential districts (grands ensembles) were built between the 1960s and 1970s to provide a low-cost solution for a rapidly expanding population:[154] These districts were socially mixed at first,[155] but few residents actually owned their homes (the growing economy made these accessible to the middle classes only from the 1970s). Superimposed on this is a 'regional express network', the RER, whose five lines (A, B, C, D, and E), 257 stops and 587 km (365 mi) of rails connect Paris to more distant parts of the urban area.[291]. It was the birthplace of Fauvism, Cubism and abstract art,[62][63] and authors such as Marcel Proust were exploring new approaches to literature. [218], In 2019 Greater Paris had 2,056 hotels, including 94 five-star hotels, with a total of 121,646 rooms. The oldest and most famous Paris theatre is the Comédie-Française, founded in 1680. Because Paris is a permanent holiday for culture, including gastronomy. [198], The majority of Paris' salaried employees fill 370,000 businesses services jobs, concentrated in the north-western 8th, 16th and 17th arrondissements. Since the 19th century, Paris has been an international fashion capital, particularly in the domain of haute couture (clothing hand-made to order for private clients). The mayor is Anne Hidalgo, a socialist, first elected 5 April 2014[114] and re-elected 28 June 2020. [159], A further 103,648 in the City of Paris and in 412,114 in the Paris Region were born in foreign countries with French citizenship at birth. [231] In middle of the 19th century, there were three other active and competing opera houses: the Opéra-Comique (which still exists), Théâtre-Italien and Théâtre Lyrique (which in modern times changed its profile and name to Théâtre de la Ville). The remaining areas are mostly middle-class citizenry dotted with islands of fortuned populations located there due to reasons of historical importance, namely Saint-Maur-des-Fossés to the east and Enghien-les-Bains to the north of Paris. Facts for kids. The Metropole covers 814 square kilometres (314 square miles) and has a population of 6.945 million persons. [287] Another top-level professional team, Nanterre 92, plays in Nanterre. The Eiffel Tower is both an engineering miracle and visual delight. [283] In addition to Paris Saint-Germain F.C., the city has a number of other professional and amateur football clubs: Paris FC, Red Star, RCF Paris and Stade Français Paris. The historical district along the Seine in the city centre is classified as a UNESCO Heritage Site, and popular landmarks there included the Cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris on the Île de la Cité, now closed for renovation after the 15 April 2019 fire. [99] The metropolitan area of the city is 2,300 km2 (890 sq mi). [196], Station F is a business incubator for startups, located in 13th arrondissement of Paris. The word was most likely created by Parisians of the lower popular class who spoke *argot*, then *parigot* was used in a provocative manner outside the Parisian region and throughout France to mean Parisians in general. [269] It is home to some of the largest fashion houses in the world, including Dior and Chanel, as well as many other well-known and more contemporary fashion designers, such as Karl Lagerfeld, Jean-Paul Gaultier, Yves Saint Laurent, Givenchy, and Christian Lacroix. [255], The movie industry was born in Paris when Auguste and Louis Lumière projected the first motion picture for a paying audience at the Grand Café on 28 December 1895. By 2020 its basic competencies will include urban planning, housing and protection of the environment. Paris is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,148,271 residents as of 2020, in an area of 105 square kilometres (41 square miles). The city hosted the Olympic Games in 1900, 1924 and will host the 2024 Summer Olympics. It is also responsible for providing emergency services, including the Paris Fire Brigade. AFP, as it is colloquially abbreviated, maintains its headquarters in Paris, as it has since 1835. [199] Outside Paris, the western Hauts-de-Seine department La Défense district specialising in finance, insurance and scientific research district, employs 144,600,[194] and the north-eastern Seine-Saint-Denis audiovisual sector has 200 media firms and 10 major film studios. [267] A brasserie originally was a tavern located next to a brewery, which served beer and food at any hour. - Paris je t'aime. Factors in the migration included de-industrialisation, high rent, the gentrification of many inner quarters, the transformation of living space into offices, and greater affluence among working families. [194] Four hundred automobile industry companies employ another 100,000 workers: many of these are centred in the Yvelines department around the Renault and PSA-Citroen plants (this department alone employs 33,000),[194] but the industry as a whole suffered a major loss with the 2014 closing of a major Aulnay-sous-Bois Citroen assembly plant.[194]. Paris has several prominent hills, the highest of which is Montmartre at 130 m (427 ft). In 1163, during the reign of Louis VII, Maurice de Sully, bishop of Paris, undertook the construction of the Notre Dame Cathedral at its eastern extremity. This was an increase of 588 persons since 2018. France is known for its stunning landmarks and attractions such as the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe , Sacre Coeur Cathedral or the Loire castles. The city is also the most important hub of France's motorway network, and is surrounded by three orbital freeways: the Périphérique,[98] which follows the approximate path of 19th-century fortifications around Paris, the A86 motorway in the inner suburbs, and finally the Francilienne motorway in the outer suburbs. [106], Paris has an average annual precipitation of 641 mm (25.2 in), and experiences light rainfall distributed evenly throughout the year. Troubadours, from the south of France, were also popular. A half dozen music halls exist today in Paris, attended mostly by visitors to the city.[235]. On 28 March, a revolutionary government called the Paris Commune seized power in Paris. Striking examples of 20th-century architecture include the Centre Georges Pompidou by Richard Rogers and Renzo Piano (1977), the Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie by various architects (1986), the Arab World Institute by Jean Nouvel (1987), the Louvre Pyramid by I. M. Pei (1989) and the Opéra Bastille by Carlos Ott (1989). He began erecting monuments to military glory, including the Arc de Triomphe, and improved the neglected infrastructure of the city with new fountains, the Canal de l'Ourcq, Père Lachaise Cemetery and the city's first metal bridge, the Pont des Arts. France, country of northwestern Europe. This is a world! When searching for a hotel in Paris, selecting the right location is most important. [159][clarification needed], In 2012, there were 8,810 British citizens and 10,019 United States citizens living in the City of Paris (Ville de Paris) and 20,466 British citizens and 16,408 United States citizens living in the entire Paris Region (Île-de-France).[174][175]. Home Contact us; Word of Mouth; Welcome to France Tourism. To demonstrate that the city was safe from attack, the king had the city walls demolished and replaced with tree-lined boulevards that would become the Grands Boulevards of today. Paris was in its artistic prime in the 19th century and early 20th century, when it had a colony of artists established in the city and in art schools associated with some of the finest painters of the times: Édouard Manet, Claude Monet, Berthe Morisot, Paul Gauguin, Pierre-Auguste Renoir and others. The Moulin Rouge was opened in 1889. Modern Paris owes much of its downtown plan and architectural harmony to Napoleon III and his Prefect of the Seine, Baron Haussmann. [223] Georges Bizet's Carmen premiered 3 March 1875. The final stage of the most famous bicycle racing in the world, Tour de France, always finishes in Paris. Weekly Parkruns take place in the Bois de Boulogne and the Parc Montsouris [318][319]. [68], In the years after the peace conference, the city was also home to growing numbers of students and activists from French colonies and other Asian and African countries, who later became leaders of their countries, such as Ho Chi Minh, Zhou Enlai and Léopold Sédar Senghor. Since the 17th century, Paris has been one of Europe's major centres of finance, diplomacy, commerce, fashion, science and arts. Paris? Most of the campuses today are in the Latin Quarter where the old university was located, while others are scattered around the city and the suburbs.[276]. Though the Metropole has a population of nearly seven million people and accounts for 25 percent of the GDP of France, it has a very small budget: just 65 million Euros, compared with eight billion Euros for the City of Paris. [116], Once elected, the council plays a largely passive role in the city government, primarily because it meets only once a month. The Louvre received 9.6 million visitors in 2019, ranking it the most visited museum in the world. [177] According to a 2011 survey by the IFOP, a French public opinion research organisation, 61 percent of residents of the Paris Region (Île-de-France) identified themselves as Roman Catholic. Learn more about it. [248], Paris is the spiritual home of gypsy jazz in particular, and many of the Parisian jazzmen who developed in the first half of the 20th century began by playing Bal-musette in the city. The power socket used in France is Type C, Type E or Type F, with a voltage of 220-240 Volts. [113] The first modern elected mayor of Paris was Jacques Chirac, elected 20 March 1977, becoming the city's first mayor since 1793. The number of deputy mayors in each arrondissement varies depending upon its population. [116] Party lists winning an absolute majority in the first round – or at least a plurality in the second round – automatically win half the seats of an arrondissement. The basketball team Levallois Metropolitans plays some of its games at the 4,000 capacity Stade Pierre de Coubertin. [77] The Tour Maine-Montparnasse, the tallest building in the city at 57 storeys and 210 metres (689 feet) high, was built between 1969 and 1973. [176] French census data does not contain information about religious affiliation. [16] The meaning of the Gaulish name Parisii is debated. During the Hundred Years' War, Paris was occupied by England-friendly Burgundian forces from 1418, before being occupied outright by the English when Henry V of England entered the French capital in 1420;[39] in spite of a 1429 effort by Joan of Arc to liberate the city,[40] it would remain under English occupation until 1436. No – Was It Before? On 17 October 1961, an unauthorised but peaceful protest demonstration of Algerians against the curfew led to violent confrontations between the police and demonstrators, in which at least 40 people were killed, including some thrown into the Seine. In the 1970s, 80 percent of French-language publishing houses were found in Paris, almost all on the Left Bank in the 5th, 6th and 7th arrondissements. [283] It is used for football, rugby union and track and field athletics. More info: Coronavirus: hygiene measures and recommended precautions. Paris has an extensive road network with over 2,000 km (1,243 mi) of highways and motorways. In spite of Henry IV's efforts to improve city circulation, the narrowness of Paris' streets was a contributing factor in his assassination near Les Halles marketplace in 1610. From 1809, the Canal de l'Ourcq provided Paris with water from less-polluted rivers to the north-east of the capital. According to the same census, three departments bordering Paris, Hauts-de-Seine, Seine-Saint-Denis and Val-de-Marne, had population densities of over 10,000 people per square kilometre, ranking among the 10 most densely populated areas of the EU. [97], Excluding the outlying parks of Bois de Boulogne and Bois de Vincennes, Paris covers an oval measuring about 87 km2 (34 sq mi) in area, enclosed by the 35 km (22 mi) ring road, the Boulevard Périphérique. [259] On 2 February 2000, Philippe Binant realised the first digital cinema projection in Europe, with the DLP CINEMA technology developed by Texas Instruments, in Paris. Paris is the capital city of France. The city is spread widely on both banks of the river. Other hospitals include Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital (one of the largest in Europe), Hôpital Cochin, Bichat–Claude Bernard Hospital, Hôpital Européen Georges-Pompidou, Bicêtre Hospital, Beaujon Hospital, the Curie Institute, Lariboisière Hospital, Necker–Enfants Malades Hospital, Hôpital Saint-Louis, Hôpital de la Charité and the American Hospital of Paris. of customers recommend PARISINFO.COM, © 2015 Paris Convention and Visitors Bureau All rights reserved, By using this site , you agree to the use of cookies for analytical purposes, advertising and personalized content . A luxury restaurant, La Taverne Anglaise, opened in 1786 in the arcades of the Palais-Royal by Antoine Beauvilliers; it featured an elegant dining room, an extensive menu, linen tablecloths, a large wine list and well-trained waiters; it became a model for future Paris restaurants. The Hotel Meurice, opened for British travellers in 1817, was one of the first luxury hotels in Paris. Several other much-visited landmarks are located in the suburbs of the city; the Basilica of St Denis, in Seine-Saint-Denis, is the birthplace of the Gothic style of architecture and the royal necropolis of French kings and queens. The prestigious public universities are usually considered grands établissements. Only 33 percent of principal residence Parisians own their habitation (against 47 percent for the entire Île-de-France): the major part of the city's population is a rent-paying one. Other landmarks are laid out east to west along the historical axis of Paris, which runs from the Louvre through the Tuileries Garden, the Luxor Column in the Place de la Concorde, and the Arc de Triomphe, to the Grande Arche of La Défense. [226][227] Numerous photographers achieved renown for their photography of Paris, including Eugène Atget, noted for his depictions of street scenes, Robert Doisneau, noted for his playful pictures of people and market scenes (among which Le baiser de l'hôtel de ville has become iconic of the romantic vision of Paris), Marcel Bovis, noted for his night scenes, as well as others such as Jacques-Henri Lartigue and Henri Cartier-Bresson. [164] The principal reasons were a significant decline in household size, and a dramatic migration of residents to the suburbs between 1962 and 1975. These include both restaurants which serve classical French cuisine, such as L'Ambroisie in the Place des Vosges, and those which serve non-traditional menus, such as L'Astrance, which combines French and Asian cuisines. In 2018, of the 27 Michelin three-star restaurants in France, ten are located in Paris. Paris has a big hip hop scene. [93] On 20 April, a man fatally shot a French police officer on the Champs-Élysées, and was later shot dead himself. [96], Measured from the 'point zero' in front of its Notre-Dame cathedral, Paris by road is 450 kilometres (280 mi) southeast of London, 287 kilometres (178 mi) south of Calais, 305 kilometres (190 mi) southwest of Brussels, 774 kilometres (481 mi) north of Marseille, 385 kilometres (239 mi) northeast of Nantes, and 135 kilometres (84 mi) southeast of Rouen. The winner of the 2014 Nobel Prize in Literature, Patrick Modiano (who lives in Paris), based most of his literary work on the depiction of the city during World War II and the 1960s–1970s. [281] Other academic libraries include Interuniversity Pharmaceutical Library, Leonardo da Vinci University Library, Paris School of Mines Library, and the René Descartes University Library.[282]. We have reviews of the best places to see in Paris. Paris puts the focus on photography with exhibitions, talks, shows, photo walks and more! Allied armies liberated France in Aug. 1944, and a provisional government in Paris headed by Gen. Charles de Gaulle was established. [307] From then on, the new reservoir system became Paris' principal source of drinking water, and the remains of the old system, pumped into lower levels of the same reservoirs, were from then on used for the cleaning of Paris' streets. [136] The national police has its own special unit for riot control and crowd control and security of public buildings, called the Compagnies Républicaines de Sécurité (CRS), a unit formed in 1944 right after the liberation of France. [240], Paris is a city of books and bookstores. News from the US, Europe, Asia Pacific, Africa, Middle East, America The Panthéon and the Catacombs of Paris are also located on the Left Bank of the Seine. Romantic-era composers (in Paris) include Hector Berlioz (La Symphonie fantastique), Charles Gounod (Faust), Camille Saint-Saëns (Samson et Delilah), Léo Delibes (Lakmé) and Jules Massenet (Thaïs), among others. [47] A new boulevard, the Champs-Élysées, extended the city west to Étoile,[48] while the working-class neighbourhood of the Faubourg Saint-Antoine on the eastern site of the city grew more and more crowded with poor migrant workers from other regions of France. Gas lights were installed on the Place du Carrousel, Rue de Rivoli and Place Vendome in 1829. It was highly visible because of its large red imitation windmill on its roof, and became the birthplace of the dance known as the French Cancan. By the end of the 12th century, Paris had become the political, economic, religious, and cultural capital of France. [159] 26,700 of these in the City of Paris and 210,159 in the Paris Region were people born in Overseas France (more than two-thirds of whom in the French West Indies) and are therefore not counted as immigrants since they were legally French citizens at birth. The anti-independence Organisation armée secrète (OAS), for their part, carried out a series of bombings in Paris throughout 1961 and 1962. [129], The two houses of the French Parliament are located on the Left Bank. Fortification of the Île de la Cité failed to avert sacking by Vikings in 845, but Paris' strategic importance—with its bridges preventing ships from passing—was established by successful defence in the Siege of Paris (885–86), for which the then Count of Paris (comte de Paris), Odo of France, was elected king of West Francia. World rallies to save Paris climate agreement, five years on. Between 1853 and 1870 they rebuilt the city centre, created the wide downtown boulevards and squares where the boulevards intersected, imposed standard facades along the boulevards, and required that the facades be built of the distinctive cream-grey "Paris stone". [4] In 2011, its GDP ranked second among the regions of Europe and its per-capita GDP was the 4th highest in Europe. The largest part of the investment budget is earmarked for public housing (262 million Euros) and for real estate (142 million Euros). [194], In the 2017 worldwide cost of living survey by the Economist Intelligence Unit, based on a survey made in September 2016, Paris ranked as the seventh most expensive city in the world, and the second most expensive in Europe, after Zurich. [108], For almost all of its long history, except for a few brief periods, Paris was governed directly by representatives of the king, emperor, or president of France. [316] Since 1977, the city has created 166 new parks, most notably the Parc de la Villette (1987), Parc André Citroën (1992), Parc de Bercy (1997) and Parc Clichy-Batignolles (2007). The French Revolution and political and social change in France had a profound influence on art in the capital. The French royal family and courtiers "disported themselves in masques, ballets, allegorical dances, recitals, and opera and comedy", and a national musical printing house was established. Theatre traditionally has occupied a large place in Parisian culture, and many of its most popular actors today are also stars of French television. [304] A quarter of the city's district heating is to come from a plant in Saint-Ouen-sur-Seine, burning a 50/50-mix of coal and 140,000 tonnes of wood pellets from the United States per year.[305]. The Paris Region had a Hotels in Paris France. The 2024 Olympics will be held in the city. [41][42] The conflicts ended when pretender to the throne Henry IV, after converting to Catholicism to gain entry to the capital, entered the city in 1594 to claim the crown of France. The first book printed in France, Epistolae ("Letters"), by Gasparinus de Bergamo (Gasparino da Barzizza), was published in Paris in 1470 by the press established by Johann Heynlin. [64], During the First World War, Paris sometimes found itself on the front line; 600 to 1,000 Paris taxis played a small but highly important symbolic role in transporting 6,000 soldiers to the front line at the First Battle of the Marne. Paris in its early history had only the rivers Seine and Bièvre for water. The district also includes a large concentration of department stores, shopping areas, hotels and restaurants, as well a government offices and ministries. [171][verification needed], According to the 2012 French census, 586,163 residents of the City of Paris, or 26.2 percent, and 2,782,834 residents of the Paris Region (Île-de-France), or 23.4 percent, were born outside of metropolitan France (the last figure up from 22.4% at the 2007 census).