when did paris became the political economic religious and cultural capital of france
Paris Paris (French pronunciation: [paʁi] ( listen)) is the capital and most populous city of France, with an administrative-limits area of 105 square kilometres (41 square miles) and a 2015 population of 2,229,621.[2] The city is a commune and department, and the capital-heart of the 12,012-square-kilometre (4,638-square-mile) Île-de-France region (colloquially known as the 'Paris Region'), whose 2016 population of 12,142,802 represents roughly 18 percent of the population of France.[5] Since the 17th century, Paris has been one of Europe's major centres of finance, commerce, fashion, science, and the arts. The Paris Region had a GDP of €649.6 billion (US $763.4 billion) in 2014, accounting for 30.4 percent of the GDP of France.[6] According to official estimates, in 2013-14 the Paris Region had the third-highest GDP in the world and the largest regional GDP in the EU.