ILE-DE-FRANCE

rgion encompassing the north-central French dpartements of Val-d'Oise, Seine-et-Marne, Seine-Saint-Denis, Paris, Hauts-de-Seine, Val-de-Marne, Essonne, and Yvelines and roughly coextensive with the historical region of the le-de-France. The capital is Paris. The rgion is bounded by the dpartements of Eure to the northwest, Oise and Aisne to the north, Marne, Aube, and Yonne to the east, Loiret to the south, and Eure-et-Loir to the west. The rgion lies in the central part of the Paris Basin and consists of limestone plains with a gently rolling relief. The principal rivers in the rgion are the Seine and its tributaries, the Marne, Oise, and Aisne. The area around Paris was originally known as Francia, from which the name of France was derived. Under the Merovingians (476750), Francia meant the region between the Rhine and the Seine rivers; it was restricted under the Carolingians to the country bounded by the Aisne, Oise, and Seine rivers. In the 10th and 11th centuries it signified only the territory limited by the Seine, the Marne, the Beuvronne, the Oise, and the Nonette. It was from the nucleus of this territory that Hugh Capet, who became king of France in 987, and his successors consolidated the authority of the monarchy and thereby created the modern French state. In the European Middle Ages, le (island) often designated areas more or less bounded by rivers but was not given specifically to France before 1387. The name is not found in written documents before 1429; but in the second half of the 15th century it designated a wide military province of government, bounded on the north by Picardy, the west by Normandy, the south by Orlanais and Nivernais, and the east by Champagne. Its capital was Paris. In the 16th century, the gouvernement of le-de-France was constituted under a gouverneur, or a lieutenant of the king; in the 18th century, it was divided between the gnralits, or intendances, of Paris and Soissons. During the French Revolution the le-de-France was divided into dpartements. The le-de-France is the most densely populated region in France. During a century (18501950) when most areas of France were losing population, the magnet of Paris attracted immigrants from all over the country. The population of the le-de-France consequently increased more than fourfold between 1850 and 1968, but, with the central government's policy of decentralization from Paris, it lost potential immigrants to more distant regions; during the 1980s it increased at a rate slightly above the national average. Most of the communes belonging to the le-de-France are still classified as rural despite their proximity to Paris. The rgion's fertile loams support the cultivation of wheat, corn (maize), and sugar beets, but owing to the great urban sprawl of Paris, agriculture is of negligible importance outside Seine-et-Marne, Val-d'Oise, and Yvelines. Agriculture in Seine-et-Marne tends to be highly mechanized and employs only a small percentage of the workforce; sugar beets are a major crop. Sugar beets and wheat are grown in Val-d'Oise, in the French Vexin, and in the plain of the le-de-France. The region's industries are highly developed; manufactures include electronic and aeronautical equipment. Industries, research laboratories, and institutions in the le-de-France employ many of the nation's engineers and mathematics and computer specialists. Area 4,637 square miles (12,011 square km). Pop. (1991 est.) 10,788,318.