when did paris became the political economic religious and cultural capital of france
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. 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. 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. 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.