Capital of France

All about Paris

Paris city, its administrative limits unchanged since 1860, is one of few cities that have not evolved politically with its real demographic growth; this issue is at present being discussed in plans for a "Grand Paris" (Greater Paris) that will extend Paris' administrative limits to embrace much more of its urban tissue.
As the capital, Paris is the seat of France's national government. For the executive, the two chief officers each have their own official residences, which also serve as their offices. The President of France resides at the Élysée Palace in the 8th arrondissement, while the Prime Minister's seat is at the Hôtel Matignon in the 7th arrondissement. Government ministries are located in various parts of the city; many are located in the 7th arrondissement, near the Matignon.
The two houses of the French Parliament are also located on the Left Bank. The upper house, the Senate, meets in the Palais du Luxembourg in the 6th arrondissement, while the more important lower house, the Assemblée Nationale, meets in the Palais Bourbon in the 7th. The President of the Senate, the second-highest public official in France after the President of the Republic, resides in the "Petit Luxembourg", a smaller palace annex to the Palais du Luxembourg.

France's highest courts are located in Paris. The Court of Cassation, the highest court in the judicial order, which reviews criminal and civil cases, is located in the Palais de Justice on the Île de la Cité, while the Conseil d'État, which provides legal advice to the executive and acts as the highest court in the administrative order, judging litigation against public bodies, is located in the Palais Royal in the 1st arrondissement.
The Constitutional Council, an advisory body with ultimate authority on the constitutionality of laws and government decrees, also meets in the Palais Royal.

Economy of Paris

Visit to Paris

Economy of Paris , with a 2007 GDP of €533.6 billion (US$731.3 billion), the Paris region has one of the highest GDPs in Europe, making it an engine of the global economy: Were it a country, it would rank as the seventeenth-largest economy in the world, almost as large as the Dutch economy. The Paris Region is France's premier centre of economic activity: While its population accounted for 18.8% of the total population of metropolitan France in 2007, its GDP accounted for 28.7% of metropolitan France's GDP. Activity in the Paris urban area, though diverse, does not have a leading specialised industry (such as Los Angeles with entertainment industries or London and New York with financial industries in addition to their other activities). Recently, the Paris economy has been shifting towards high-value-added service industries (finance, IT services, etc.) and high-tech manufacturing (electronics, optics, aerospace, etc).

The Paris region's most intense economic activity through the central Hauts-de-Seine département and suburban La Défense business district places Paris' economic centre to the west of the city, in a triangle between the Opéra Garnier, La Défense, and the Val de Seine. Paris' administrative borders have little consequences on the limits of its economic activity: Although most workers commute from the suburbs to work in the city, many commute from the city to work in the suburbs. Although the Paris economy is largely dominated by services, it remains an important manufacturing powerhouse of Europe, especially in industrial sectors such as automobiles, aeronautics, and electronics. Over recent decades, the local economy has moved towards high-value-added activities, in particular business services.

The 1999 census indicated that, of the 5,089,170 persons employed in the Paris urban area, 16.5% worked in business services, 13.0% in commerce (retail and wholesale trade), 12.3% in manufacturing, 10.0% in public administrations and defence, 8.7% in health services, 8.2% in transportation and communications, 6.6% in education, and the remaining 24.7% in many other economic sectors. In the manufacturing sector, the largest employers were the electronic and electrical industry (17.9% of the total manufacturing workforce in 1999) and the publishing and printing industry (14.0% of the total manufacturing workforce), with the remaining 68.1% of the manufacturing workforce distributed among many other industries. Tourism and tourist related services employ 6.2% of Paris' workforce, and 3.6% of all workers within the Paris Region.

universities in France - List

Academy & University in France
This is a list public universities in France, including the one French "university centre", which are distinguished as being state institutes of higher education and research that practice open admissions. The list does not include public institutions that practice competitive admissions, such as Paris Dauphine University, which changed status in 2004, the three national polytechnic institutes, the grandes écoles (among which are the three universities of technology), or private universities, such as the Catholic universities, the Protestant universities, the private secular universities, and the American University of Paris. This list does make mention of university systems related to the public universities, including the historic city university systems and the new centres for research and higher education.

Academy of Aix and Marseille
* University of Provence (Aix-Marseille I, Université de Provence : Aix-Marseille I)
* University of the Mediterranean (Aix-Marseille II, Université de la Méditerranée : Aix-Marseille II)
* Paul Cézanne University (Aix-Marseille III, Université Paul Cézanne : Aix-Marseille III)
* University of Avignon (University of Avignon and the Vaucluse, Université d'Avignon et des pays du Vaucluse)

Academy of Amiens
* University of Picardie Jules Verne (Université de Picardie Jules Verne)
Academy of Besançon
* University of Franche-Comté (Université de Franche-Comté)
Academy of Bordeaux
* University of Bordeaux 1 (Université Bordeaux 1 Sciences Technologies or Bordeaux 1)
* Victor Segalen Bordeaux 2 University (Université Victor Segalen Bordeaux 2)
* Michel de Montaigne University Bordeaux 3 (Université Michel de Montaigne Bordeaux 3)
* Montesquieu University - Bordeaux IV (Université Montesquieu - Bordeaux IV)
* University of Pau and Pays de l'Adour (Université de Pau et des pays de l'Adour)
* University of Bordeaux
* Pôle universitaire de Bordeaux

Academy of Caen
* University of Caen Lower Normandy (Université de Caen Basse-Normandie)
Academy of Clermont-Ferrand
* University of Auvergne (Université d'Auvergne, formerly Clermont 1)
* Blaise Pascal University (Université Blaise Pascal, formerly Clermont-Ferrand II)
* University of Clermont-Ferrand

Academy of Corsica
* University of Corsica Pascal Paoli (Corsican: Università di Corsica Pasquale Paoli, French: Université de Corse Pascal Paoli)
Academy of Créteil
* Paris 8 University (Université Paris 8 Vincennes-Saint-Denis)
* Paris 12 Val de Marne University (Université Paris 12 Val de Marne)
* Paris 13 University - Paris North (Université Paris 13 - Paris Nord, UP13)
* University of Marne la Vallée (Université de Marne la Vallée, UMLV)
* University of Paris
* Université Paris-Es
List Academy/ University in France
# Academy of Dijon
# Academy of French Guiana
# Academy of French Polynesia
# Academy of Grenoble
# Academy of Guadeloupe
# Academy of Lille
# Academy of Limoges
# Academy of Lyon
# Academy of Martinique
# Academy of Mayotte
# Academy of Montpellier
# Academy of Nancy and Metz
# Academy of Nantes
# Academy of Nice
# Academy of Orléans and Tours
# Academy of New Caledonia
# Academy of Paris
# Academy of Poitiers
# Academy of Reims
# Academy of Rennes
# Academy of Réunion
# Academy of Rouen
# Academy of Saint Pierre and Miquelon
# Academy of Strasbourg
# Academy of Toulouse
# Academy of Versailles
# Academy of Wallis and Futuna