Paris SVG is a city, the capital of France, the administrative center of the Ile-de-France region. It forms a commune and a department divided into 20 districts.
Population: 2.2 million people (2016), the fifth largest city in the European Union. The Greater Paris metropolitan area is home to 10.6 million people (2011). It is located in the north of France, on the plain of the Paris Basin, on the banks of the Seine River.
The main political, economic and cultural center of France. It refers to global cities, world financial centers. Headquarters of UNESCO and other international organizations.
The historical center, formed by the island of Cité and both banks of the Seine, was formed over the centuries. In the second half of the XIX century, it underwent a radical reconstruction. The palace and park ensemble of Versailles is located in the suburbs.
It was founded in the III century B.C. by the Parisian tribe of Celtic origin. Since III-IV centuries it is known as Gallo-Roman city of Paris SVG. There are several versions of the origin of the toponym “Paris”. Since the end of X century it is the capital of France with interruptions.
Paris grew up on the site of the settlement of Lutetia, founded by the Celtic Parisian tribe in the III century BC. The settlement was located on the safe island of Cité, surrounded by the waters of the Seine River. At the beginning of II century BC the settlement was surrounded by a fortress wall. The basis of the economy was trade: the Seine connected the Mediterranean Sea with the British Isles. In 52 B.C., the Parisians joined the Gaul rebellion against the domination of Rome under the leadership of Arvernese chief Verzingatorig. In the same year, the Battle of Lutétia took place, in which the Romans won. Julius Caesar’s works “Notes on the Gallic War”, in which Lutecia was first mentioned – “the city of Parisians, located on one of the islands of the Seine. After the Roman general Titus Labien besieged her, the inhabitants destroyed bridges and burned the city.
The Romans rebuilt it, building a stone road, villas, a 16-kilometer aqueduct, three baths, an amphitheatre and a forum with a basilica. The Roman administration was located on the island of Cité, where the port continued to function. In the III century the city was raided by the Germanic Alemannic tribe, which led to the relocation of residents from the left bank of the Seine to the more secure island of Cité. At the same time, Lutetia became known as the City of Parisians (Latin Civitas Parisiorum) and then Parisium. In IV century the first Christian church appeared. In the V century was the activity of St. Genevieve, who became the patroness of Paris SVG. In 470, the Salic Franks led by Hilderick I besieged the city for more than 10 years. At the end of the 5th century, Clodwig turned Paris into the capital of the Frankish state for a while.
In 508 the city became the capital of the Merovingian kingdom. In the VI century churches and monasteries were built everywhere. At this time, the population was 15-20 thousand inhabitants. On the Cité, a fortress towered, residences of the king and church authorities were located. The basis of existence of the city was trade, and the possibility of access to the sea (through the Seine) contributed to the emergence of merchants from the East – mainly Syrian and Jewish.
In the 7th century, Paris lost its capital function after the Frankish King Clothar II moved to Clichy and later Charlemagne to Aachen. After the accession to the throne of the first king of France of the Capetines dynasty, Hugo Capetá became the capital of the state again at the end of the 10th century.
At the end of the ninth century the city was raided by the Normans. In 856-857 they destroyed the left bank of Paris. From 885 to 887 the city besieged not less than 40 thousand Normans on 700 ships. At the beginning of the XII century the population was concentrated mainly on the island-fortress Cité, which remained the royal residence until the middle of the XV century. It also housed the Bishop’s Palace and the Cathedral of Our Lady of Paris. Churches and monasteries had hospitals for the poor. In the XII-XIII centuries there was an active settlement on the right bank of the river near the port. During the reign of King Philip II Augusta a new fortress wall was built on both banks of the Seine, the streets were repainted with paving stones. In the XIII century, four faculties operated at the University of Paris, which was founded a century earlier: canonical law and theology, medicine, art and philology. During the Hundred Years’ War, from December 1420 onwards, Paris was occupied by the armies of King Henry V of England and, later, by the Duke of Bedford, Regent of France since 1422. From the middle of the XV to the middle of the XVI centuries the capital of France was located in Tours.
At the beginning of the XVI century under King Francis I Paris finally became the capital of France. In the XVI-XVII centuries the city was divided into 16 districts to regulate the collection of taxes and other purposes. At that time, the post of head of local government became dependent on the king. By the end of the XVI century the city had about 300 thousand inhabitants.
In the second half of the 16th century, during the Reformation of Paris, religious wars swept across France. Dissentance was pursued and heretics went to the fire. About 20 thousand citizens professed the ideas of Protestantism. On the night of August 24, 1572 Bartholomew’s Night took place, which claimed the lives of over 5 thousand people. During this period the city underwent a 5-year siege by the troops of King Navarra, during which about 30 thousand people died. At the beginning of the 17th century, under Henry IV, many famous buildings were built, including the New Bridge and the Royal Square. In 1622 Paris became an archbishopric.
In 1671, Louis XIV moved the royal residence from Paris to Versailles. In 1702 the city was divided into 20 districts. At the end of the XVIII century, a wall of general buyers up to 5 meters high was erected around the city, setting a toll for merchants. This wall served as the administrative boundary until 1860.
During the revolution in 1789, the first mayor of Bayeux in Paris was elected. During Napoleon’s reign, power was concentrated in the hands of two prefects. Between 1804 and 1814, there was a demographic explosion in which the population increased from less than 580,000 to 700,000 inhabitants. The main buildings of this period were completed after the overthrow of Napoleon. On March 31, 1814 allied troops headed by the Prussian king and the Russian emperor entered the city. From 1841 to 1845 around Paris was built the last fortress wall of Thierre, consisting of 17 forts and 94 bastions. Since the 1820s, oil lamps in the main streets have been replaced by gas lamps.
In the second half of the 19th century, 5 out of 21 world exhibitions were held here. In 1871, for two months the power in the city was in the hands of the Paris Commune.
During the Second World War, Paris was occupied by German troops, German military marches took place on the Champs-Elysées, Abwehr was housed in the Lutétia Hotel, the Gestapo – on Lariston Street, the city lived in Berlin time and with German signs. The occupation lasted until the end of August 1944, when General Leclercq took over the surrender of the German general von Scholtitsa. On August 25, Charles de Gaulle gave a famous speech from the balcony of the town hall: “Paris is desecrated, Paris is broken, Paris is exhausted, but Paris is free!
There was a mass riot here in May 1968, which ultimately led not so much to a change of government as to a radical change of society, a change of mentality of the French.
On November 13, 2015, a series of terrorist attacks took place in Paris: explosions broke out at the Stade de France stadium and at the Contour Voltaire Cafe, several restaurants were shot and spectators and actors were taken hostage at the Bataklan Theatre. The Islamic State terrorist group, banned in Russia and several other countries, claimed responsibility for the incident.
On 30 January 2019, the Travel and Leisure information portal published a rating of the most romantic cities in the world. The research analyzed the number of people seeking to make an offer of their hands and hearts or get married in a particular city. It also analyzed the sexual activity of residents and the availability of favorable conditions for LGBT dating. According to the results of the study, Paris SVG was ranked fourth in this ranking.