Paris is the capital and largest city of France. It is situated
on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-
de-France region. The city of Paris, within its administrative
limits (the 20 arrondissements), has a population of about
2,230,000. Its metropolitan area is one of the largest
population centres in Europe, with more than 12 million
inhabitants. An important settlement for more than two
millennia, Paris had become, by the 12th century, one of
Europe's foremost centres of learning and the arts and the
largest city in the Western world until the turn of the 18th
century. Paris is today one of the world's leading business and
cultural centres and its influences in politics, education,
entertainment, media, science, and the arts all contribute to
its status as one of the world's major global cities. Paris and
the Paris region, with €572.4 billion in 2010, produce more than
a quarter of the gross domestic product of France and has one of
the largest city GDPs in the world. Considered as g