Paris, the capital
of France, is located in northern France on both banks of the Seine River,
145 km (90 mi) from the river's mouth on the English Channel. A total of 2,135,300
(2002) inhabitants live in Paris proper, and almost 11 million persons (1999)
live in greater Paris (the Ile-de-France region), which is one of Europe's
largest metropolitan areas. A city of world importance and the business, historic,
intellectual, diplomatic, religious, educational, artistic, and tourist center
of France, Paris owes its prosperity in large part to its favorable position
on the Seine, which has been a major commercial artery since the Roman period.
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