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.
法國首都,巴黎,座落於法國北部距離英吉利海峽出海口145公里的賽納河兩岸。巴黎居民總數2,135,300 (2002),並且有將近一千一百萬人共同居住於大巴黎地區,同時也是歐洲最大都市。
兼具全球重要性並集法國商業、歷史、知識、外交、宗教、教育及旅遊中心等,法國的興盛最大部分應歸功於自羅馬時代以來其位於賽納河的絕佳地理位置