In 250BC, the Parisii founded a settlement known as Lutetia on what is now called Ile de la Cité. Its strategic location at a bridging point on the River Seine made it tempting prey to waves of invading Romans, Huns, Franks and Vikings. With the election of Hugues Capet as King of France in 987, the city’s pre-eminent place in what gradually became unified France really began.

Except during brief periods of war and revolution it has been the seat of government pretty much ever since, although François I, who preferred the Loire, and Louis XIV, who decamped to Versailles, often tried to avoid the capital and its argumentative citizens. It is here that the merchants’ prévôt Etienne Marcel led a revolt against the monarchy in 1357 and that the 1789, 1830 and 1848 Revolutions began, not forgetting the social and sexual revolt of May 1968. Paris is also an intellectual capital, renowned under the Enlightenment for the sparkling company and witticisms found in its literary salons, and where the Impressionist painters revolutionised the art world in the 19th century.

POLITICS

Despite a degree of devolution to the regions, France remains highly centralised, with Paris at the heart of politics, the economy, culture and the media. There is a long tradition of rivalry between town and central government, especially when, as at present, they come from different political parties. After a general election marked by the rise of the extreme right and surprise defeat of Socialist candidate Lionel Jospin in the first round, Jacques Chirac was elected president by 80% in May 2002, followed by a landslide victory to his UMP (Union pour un Mouvement Populaire) party. Jean-Pierre Raffarin was replaced by Dominique de Villepin as prime minister in 2005, after the no vote on the European Constitution referendum.

One of the peculiarities of the Fifth Republic, which gives considerable power to the president, is that despite elected lower and upper houses (Assemblée Nationale and Senat), the current prime minister has never been elected to any form of political position. With Chirac ageing, doubts over his health and the Socialist Party still in disarray, individual battling for position for the next presidential election in 2007 is already well underway in both the main parties. Paris’s current mayor is the Socialist Bertrand Delanoe. He was elected in March 2001 and heads a socialist-green coalition. There is also a mayor for each of the 20 Paris arrondissements. The Communist Party remains an influential force in local politics, notably in several Paris suburbs. Other political parties include the Trotskyist Ligue Communiste Révolutionnaire and Le Pen’s extreme right Front National.

If low electoral turnouts betray a certain voter apathy, the right to demonstrate remains a heartfelt belief: barely a day goes by without some sort of manifestation making its way to or from the Bastille or down boulevard Saint-Michel.

RELIGION

The 1789 Revolution was a revolt against the church as well as the monarchy and the belief in a secular republic is proudly maintained. The state education system includes no religious teaching and visible religious appurtenances are prohibited in state schools. Nonetheless, although the number of regular churchgoers is small, some 90% of the population is nominally Roman Catholic, with a small Protestant minority. Paris also has a substantial Muslim community, largely of North African origin, and Europe’s largest Jewish population, originating from both Europe and North Africa.

ECONOMY

'Liberalism’, for which read 'capitalism’, is typically considered a dirty word in France, but that doesn’t stop France from being the fourth leading industrial nation in the world and a member of G8. Paris is at the heart of France’s wealthiest region. The Ile de France is home to 19% of the total population and 29% of the nation’s wealth, although it also contains the country’s greatest economic disparities. Today over 80% of the active population is employed in the service sector. Tourism is a major employer, with Paris the world leader for numbers of foreign visitors. The Ile de France is also the nation’s key region for scientific and technological research. The principal industrial employment sector in Paris is printing and publishing, with important poles in the Ile de France devoted to telecoms, pharmaceuticals, medical equipment, perfumes and cosmetics, and luxury goods.

Anyone doing business here will discover the weight of the state, with its large public sector and role in employment law, such as the infamous 35-hour week. Becoming a fonctionnaire (civil servant) remains the aspiration of the majority of French 18-25 year olds. Unemployment, currently hovering just under the 10% mark, remains a major problem, especially among the under 25s and over-50s.

POPULATION

With some 2.15 million inhabitants crammed into Paris (the 20 arrondissements, not including the suburbs), Paris is one of the most densely populated cities in Europe, with 20,450 inhabitants per square kilometre. It is only the heart of the much larger conurbation of Greater Paris with around 8 million people, or 11 million if you count all eight départements of the Ile de France region. Paris has a younger population than the rest of France, with some 36% of the population aged between 20 and 39, and over 300,000 students. Any trip on the Métro will give an idea of Paris’s multicultural diversity, although it is hard to get any firm figures as France doesn’t officially collect statistics on racial origins and anyone born in France is considered to have French nationality.