Early years
Kimberly Jones was born and raised in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. At the age of nine, her parents divorced, leaving her at home with her father. The relationship between Jones and her father was frequently negative and at one point ended when Kim attempted to stab him after a physical fight. Kim's father moved to another state, leaving her homeless. She eventually went back with her mother, where they both lived out of a car. Jones was purportedly living on the streets when she met Christopher Wallace a.k.a. rapper The Notorious B.I.G., who was a key figure in both her personal and artistic life, particularly when Wallace had gained popularity and influence through his relationship with Bad Boy Records. During the 90's, she became pregnant with Wallace's child but aborted it to pursue a career in rap.
[edit] The Junior M.A.F.I.A. and Hard Core
Hard Core (1996)
Hard Core (1996)
In late 1994, Wallace was instrumental in introducing and promoting the Brooklyn based group Junior M.A.F.I.A., which included Jones (aka "Big Momma" or "The Lieutenant") at the time. The group's first and only album was titled Conspiracy. The group released their first single, "Playas Anthem", which went on to top the Rap charts. Perhaps notably for a young female, Lil' Kim wrote all 16 bars of her verse on the song. The next singles, "Need U Tonight" featuring Aaliyah, and "Get Money," were both certified gold and made the top 20 on the Hot 100. The album debuted at No. 8 on the Billboard 200.
After a year with Junior M.A.F.I.A., Jones began a solo career by recording her debut album. Hard Core was released on November 12, 1996. The album debuted at #11 on the Billboard 200 and #2 on the Rap Chart's selling over 100,000 copies in the first week, also making it the highest-charting album by a female rapper on the Billboard 200 charts at the time. . The album's lead single "No Time", a duet with Puff Daddy, reached the #1 spot for nine weeks on the Rap Charts. The single quickly went platinum. The album later produced the Double Platinum selling single "Crush On You" and the Platinum single "Not Tonight"(Remix). "Not Tonight"(Remix) saw Lil' Kim team up with Missy Elliott, Angie Martinez, Da Brat and Left Eye of TLC. The song was released and went to #6 on the Billboard Hot 100, and also earned Lil' Kim her first Grammy Award nomination and was the first of several awards she received. In March 1997, her mentor and secret lover Notorious B.I.G. was shot and killed in Los Angeles. Kim was devastated; she would often pay homage to him in her future recordings. Following this event, she sunk into deep depression, stopped promoting Hard Core, and took a break from the music scene for a while. Meanwhile, Hard Core went on to go Double Platinum in the US. The song "Big Momma Thang (feat. Jay-Z) was originally recorded without Jay's verse. The verse which Jay's replaced contained disses towards Faith Evans & 2Pac. It is rumored that the verse regarding Pac was removed as a sign of respect, since he died 2 months before the release of Hardcore. It is unknown why the verse about Faith was also removed, but Faith and Wallace were in a relationship at the time, so he may have been pressured by Evans to remove it. The validity of this is unknown, yet the original version continues to surface on the internet.
[edit] The Notorious KIM
The Notorious KIM (2000)
The Notorious KIM (2000)
From 1998-2000, Kim toured and modeled for various fashion and pop culture companies including Candies, Versace, Iceberg, and Baby Phat. In 1999, she performed P. Diddy's "No Way Out" tour. In the same year, she launched her own label Queen Bee Entertainment and even though she hadn't had an album of her own release, she was seen on dozens of remixes and guest appearances on other artist's records. In late 1999, she recorded her sophomore album, utilizing a style in hip hop known as Pop-Rap in a few of her songs. On June 27, 2000, Kim released her second album The Notorious KIM. The album marked a new image and revamped look for the rapper. Despite the limited success of its singles, the album surprisingly reached #4 on the Top 200 Albums Charts, and #1 on the Hip-Hop/R&B charts. It was certified Platinum by the RIAA, selling 1.4 million in the United States
[edit] Moulin Rouge!
In 2001, Lil' Kim teamed up with Christina Aguilera, P!nk, and Mýa to remake the soulful "Lady Marmalade," which was originally performed by the group Labelle (which included diva Patti LaBelle) 25 years earlier. The song was recorded for the Moulin Rouge! film soundtrack, released in April 2001, and stayed #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for five weeks. The song also went to #1 in 50 countries around the world. This was a big accomplishment for female rap, as well as for Kim, who scored her first #1 Hot 100 hit and became the first and to date third female rapper in history to hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts. Lady Marmalade also garnered Kim her first Grammy Award.
In 2003, Lil' Kim recorded a new entrance theme for then World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) Women's champion Trish Stratus entitled, "Time to Rock 'n Roll", which was used during broadcasts, until Stratus' retirement. The single was released on WWE Anthology, a compilation of entrance theme music to various Professional Wrestling superstars.
[edit] La Bella Mafia
La Bella Mafia (2003)
La Bella Mafia (2003)
On March 4, 2003, Kim released her third critically acclaimed album, La Bella Mafia. Highly rated (4.5 mics) by music magazine The Source. La Bella Mafia spawned the hit "The Jump Off" featuring Mr. Cheeks, which climbed to number 16 on the Billboard Hot 100. Then came the single "Magic Stick" feat. 50 Cent, which hit No. 2 on the Hot 100 without a video ever being shot (due to beef forming between Kim & 50, after 50 made fun of Kim undergoing surgery).
La Bella Mafia debuted at #5 on the Billboard 200. It soon went Platinum and sold 1.1 Million copies. Kim was nominated for five Source Awards and won two ("Female Hip-Hop Artist of the Year", and "Female Single of the Year"). This album also got two Grammy Award nominations: Best Female Rap Solo Performance ("Came Back For You") and Best Rap Collaboration ("Magic Stick"). She was also nominated for Best Pop Collaboration with singer Christina Aguilera for the song "Can't Hold Us Down", from Aguilera's album Stripped.
[edit] Criminal conviction and The Naked Truth
The Naked Truth (2005)
The Naked Truth (2005)
On March 17, 2005, Kim was found guilty of conspiracy and perjury for lying to a grand jury about her friends' involvement in a 2001 shooting outside the Hot 97 studios in Manhattan — involving the entourage of rap duo Capone-N-Noreaga and her reported fellow Brooklynite rival Foxy Brown. She claimed not to have known that her manager (Damion Butler), and another friend (Suif “Gutta” Jackson) were at the scene, despite video> footage showing all three exiting the building. Both men have pleaded guilty to gun charges since. In July 2005, she was sentenced to a one-year-and-a-day in the Philadelphia Detention Center. She had requested to go to a camp center in Connecticut to be closer to her mother, but instead was ordered to report to the Philadelphia Detention Center. Many people were outraged over this stern sentence because Martha Stewart, who was also convicted of perjury during the same time period, was only sentenced to 5 months in a small women's camp in Alderson, West Virginia. Her lawyer stated that, "A year and a day is actually less than a year sentence, because according to federal sentencing guidelines, if there's an extra day, time is credited to you". A parole bill was filed that reduced her sentence. Throughout her entire jail sentence, Kim's representatives declared that she was busy working; she wrote over 200 songs while in prison.
Despite her conviction, Kim released a fourth album, The Naked Truth, during her sentence on September 27, 2005. It earned her a 5 mic rating from The Source, making her the first and only female rapper to ever accomplish this feature. The album debuted at #6 on the Billboard 200 charts, giving Kim her fourth Top 10 debut on the charts. The Naked Truth has been Kim's only album to not reach Platinum status, having sold only 360,000 copies.
The music video for The Naked Truth's first single, "Lighters Up" was number one on BET's 106 & Park for two weeks. "Lighters Up," was a Top Ten hit on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart. The single also reached #76 on the German Single Chart, #12 on the UK Top 75 and #4 on the Finland Single Chart. The second single, "Whoa" was released on February 17, 2006. It reached reached No. 22 on Airplay. On March 9, BET premiered the show Lil Kim: Countdown to Lockdown, which was filmed before Kim headed to jail. The show became the highest rated premiere in BET history, with 1.8 million viewers. A second season is currently in the works showcasing Lil' Kim in her post-prison lifestyle. The show will air in the Spring of 2007.
In May 2006, Debbie Harry released a Lil' Kim tribute song called "Dirty and Deep" in protest of her conviction. The song is available free from the Deborah Harry Home Page.
On June 6, 2006, Lil' Kim "The Dance Remixes" was released. It features 10 remixes of her most popular songs.
[edit] Post-Prison
On July 3, 2006, Kim was released from the Philadelphia Federal Detention Center. Hundreds of fans and supporters gathered around the prison as she made her release, holding a "Welcome Home" balloon and a dozen roses. After she waved to her fans and gave speeches to news reporters, Kim left in a 2007 Rolls Royce Phantom with a driver, telling the crowds, "Thank you, I love you all." According to her assistant, Kim was welcomed home by five different parties, including one hosted by VIBE magazine.
Lil' Kim is now looking for a new record deal. The rapper's attorney, L. Londell McMillan, said on Aug. 10 that Kim and her label, Atlantic Records, are currently "having discussions" about her deal and whether or not she will continue to make music under the company's title.
"We do wish Atlantic would release and simply free Kim," stated McMillan, who also said that he "cannot confirm the details at this time" regarding the possible split from Atlantic.
At this time Atlantic Records would like for Lil' Kim to continue to make music under their label, but there has been no word as of yet, whether Lil' Kim will remain with the label. According to her lawyers, Atlantic is offering Lil' Kim a whole new deal, but Interscope is trying to buy Lil' Kim's contract.
There has also been discussion about a possible re-release of The Naked Truth and Lil' Kim has released a re-mastered version of "The Game's In Trouble" to radio, but nothing has been officially stated. Lil' Kim also recorded a mixtape track entitled "Brooklyn 4 Life" with fellow rappers Maino and Papoose. It is unsure at this time if this track will make an official release.
Lil' Kim gave her first post-prison performance at this years VH1: Hip-Hop Honors 2006. Lil' Kim paid tribute to veteran rapper MC Lyte. Kim performed, "Lyte As A Rock" for Lyte's tribute. Lil' Kim stated "MC Lyte has paved the way for many rappers including myself, and I was honored to show respect for an amazing woman."
Lil' Kim is also slated to appear in two new movies, including one about her life. She has both a clothing and shoe line which will be available in Summer 2007. She has also signed a lucrative book deal about her life. The second season of her reality show "Countdown To Off Lockdown" will premiere in Spring 2007 on BET.
[edit] Philanthropy
Lil' Kim recently started a foundation called "Lil' Kim Cares." It is a charity project that gives help to anyone who contacts the foundation via e-mail at lilkimcares.org. During Christmas 2005, Kim's charity, along with her good friend Zab Judah's charity, donated toys, clothing and food to underprivileged families in Philadelphia.
From 2000-2002, Lil' Kim and best friend, singer Mary J. Blige, were spokeswomen for MAC Cosmetics and raised a record $4 million for people living with AIDS.
In October 2006, Lil' Kim became a Mentor for a young lady from a charity event sponsored by Senator Hillary Clinton, John Kerry, and other Democrats.
[edit] Discography
Main article: Lil' Kim discography
[edit] Albums
* 1996: Hard Core
* 2000: The Notorious KIM
* 2003: La Bella Mafia
* 2005: The Naked Truth
* 2006: The Dance Remixes
[edit] Singles
Year Song U.S. Hot 100 U.S. R&B/Hip-Hop U.S. Rap UK singles Album
1996 "No Time"(featuring Puff Daddy) (Platinum) 18 9 1 45 Hard Core
1996 "Crush on You" (2x Platinum)
(re-released in the UK) 16 - 1 36
23 Hard Core
1997 "Not Tonight (Remix)" (featuring Left Eye, Da Brat, Missy Elliott, and Angie Martinez) (Platinum) 6 3 1 11 Hard Core
2000 "No Matter What They Say" 60 15 6 35 The Notorious KIM
2000 "How Many Licks?" (featuring Sisqó) 75 36 11 - The Notorious KIM
2000 "Notorious KIM" (airplay/promotional) 54 32 1 - The Notorious KIM
2000 "Hold On" (featuring Mary J. Blige) 48 9 1 - The Notorious KIM
2001 "Lady Marmalade" (with Christina Aguilera, P!nk, and Mýa) 1 12 - 1 Moulin Rouge! (OST)
2001 "In the Air Tonite" (featuring Phil Collins) - - - 26 Urban Renewal (The Songs of Phil Collins)
2003 "The Jump Off" (featuring Mr. Cheeks) 16 2 1 16 La Bella Mafia
2003 "Magic Stick"(featuring 50 Cent) 2 1 1 - La Bella Mafia
2003 "Thug Luv" (featuring Twista) - 60 14 - La Bella Mafia
2004 "Can't Hold Us Down" (with Christina Aguilera) 12 - - 6 Stripped
2005 "Lighters Up" 31 9 8 12 The Naked Truth
2006 "Whoa" - 30 - 43 The Naked Truth
Saturday, February 24, 2007
hrithik
Career
Hrithik's first movie role was as a child artist when he was six years old in the 1980 movie Aasha, when he appeared in a dance sequence as an extra. He went on to appear as a child artist in Aap Ki Deewane (1980) and Bhagwan Dada (1986).
As Child artist in Bhagwan Dada (1986)
As Child artist in Bhagwan Dada (1986)
He was an assistant director for his father's films Karan Arjun (1995) and Koyla (1997).
He made his debut as a leading man in the 2000 film Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai opposite another debutante actress Amisha Patel. The film was directed by his father and proved to be very successful at the box office: It was the highest grossing film of 2000 and winner of the Filmfare Best Movie Award. Hrithik's performance earned him the Filmfare Best Debut Award and the Filmfare Best Actor Award. That same year, Hrithik also starred in Fiza and Mission Kashmir which were only moderately successful at the box office.
In 2001, Hrithik starred in Yaadein which was a failure at the box office and Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham which did extremely well at the box office, becoming the second-highest grossing film of 2001.[1]
He had a bad year in 2002 when all three of his releases - Mujhse Dosti Karoge!, Na Tum Jaano Na Hum, Aap Mujhe Achche Lagne Lage - failed to make an impact the box office and were declared flops.[2]
In 2003, his career was back on track with Koi Mil Gaya, which Hrithik's father Rakesh directed. It was the highest grosser of the year. It won many Filmfare Awards, including another Filmfare Best Actor Award for Hrithik.[3]
He only had only one release in 2004, Lakshya, directed by Farhan Akhtar. Lakshya did not do as well at the box office as expected[4] but critics called it his most impressive performance so far.[5]
Hrithik took a two-year break from acting before resurfacing with the superhero film Krrish[6] which released in June 2006. Krrish has been a major box office success.[7]
His most recent release is Dhoom 2, a sequel to the 2004 hit Dhoom, in which he played a negative role (a villain) for the first time. The film released on November 24, 2006 and is the biggest raw grosser in Bollywood history.[8]
His forthcoming films are Jodha-Akbar , Kismat Talkies And Delhi 6 which are scheduled to release in 2007.
[edit] Personal life
Hrithik Roshan was born in Mumbai, India, to Pinky and actor/director Rakesh Roshan. He is the nephew of well-known music director Rajesh Roshan.
Roshan is married to Sussanne Khan (who is now Sussanne Roshan), his high-school sweetheart. Sussanne is the daughter of actor/director Sanjay Khan and sister of actor Zayed Khan. Film clans (see List of Bollywood film clans) tend to intermarry.
Hrithik Roshan and Suzanne Khan/Roshan had their first child, a baby boy, on March 28, 2006, at 3:08pm at Lilavati Hospital in Mumbai, India. The child was named Hrehaan.[9]
[edit] Controversy
In 2000, Hrithik Roshan caused outrage in Nepal, after allegedly bad mouthing the country of Nepal and its people in an interview. [citation needed]
Hrithik courted controversy when, at the London press conference for his 2006 film Krrish, he said that he knew it was time to leave Shanghai and Hong Kong after six weeks of stunt training and go home when his eyes started "turning into little slits like the Chinese".[10]
[edit] Trivia
* Hrithik has a vestigial Thumb on his right hand.[11]
* His film Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai entered the Limca Book of Records in 2003 for the most number of Awards won by a Bollywood Film - 102 awards.[12]
[edit] Awards
[edit] Film Awards
* 2000: Filmfare Best Male Newcomer Award for Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai
* 2000: Filmfare Best Actor Award for Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai
* 2000: IIFA Best Actor Award for Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai
* 2000: Zee Cine Best Male Newcomer Award for Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai
* 2000: Zee Cine Best Actor Award for Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai
* 2000: Sansui Awards: Best Male Newcomer for Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai
* 2000: Star Screen Best Male Newcomer Award for Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai
* 2000: Star Screen Best Actor Award for Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai
* 2000: Aashirwaad Awards: Best Actor for Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai
* 2000: BFJA Awards: Best Actor Critics for Fiza
* 2000: Citizens Awards: Outstanding Contribution to Indian Cinema
* 2000: Filmgoers Awards: Best Actor for Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai
* 2000: Filmgoers Awards: Best Male Newcomer for Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai
* 2000: Filmgoers Awards: Best Actor Critics for Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai
* 2000: Kalashree Awards: Best Actor for Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai
* 2001: Zee Gold Awards: Best Supporting Actor for Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham
* 2003: Anandlok Awards: Best Male Actor for Koi Mil Gaya
* 2003: Apsara Awards: Best Male Actor for Koi Mil Gaya
* 2003: Asian Guild Awards: Best Actor for Koi Mil Gaya
* 2003: Chhoton Ka Funda Awards: Kamaal Da Actor Award for Koi Mil Gaya
* 2003: FICCI Hall Of Fame Awards: Best Actor Award for Koi Mil Gaya
* 2003: Pogo Awards: Best Actor for Koi Mil Gaya
* 2003: Filmfare Best Actor Award for Koi Mil Gaya
* 2003: Filmfare Best Actor Critics Award for Koi Mil Gaya
* 2003: IIFA Best Actor Award for Koi Mil Gaya
* 2003: Zee Cine Best Actor Award for Koi Mil Gaya
* 2003: Sansui Awards: Best Actor for Koi Mil Gaya
* 2003: Star Screen Best Actor Award for Koi Mil Gaya
* 2004: Stardust Best Actor Award for Lakshya[13]
* 2006: Global Indian Film Best Actor Award for Krrish[14]
* 2006: Star Screen Best Actor Award for Krrish[15]
* 2006: Anandlok Awards: Best Male Actor for Krrish [16]
* 2006: Pogo Awards: Most Amazing Actor for Krrish
* 2006: Radio Sargam Bollywood Awards: Best Actor for Krrish[17]
* 2006: Radio Sargam Bollywood Awards: Best Actor In A Negative Role for Dhoom 2 [18]
[edit] Other Awards
* 2001: Bollywood Fashion Awards; Celebrity Style Male
* 2003: Awadh Awards: Outstanding Contribution to Indian Cinema
* 2003: Chhoton Ka Funda Awards: Chhoton Ka Funda Dhishum Dhishum Doley Sholay Award; For swashbuckling muscle and action display for Koi Mil Gaya
* 2003: Chhoton Ka Funda Awards: Chhoton Ka Funda Boogie Woogie Award; for dance performance in It's Magic for Koi Mil Gaya
* 2003: Pogo Awards; Amazing Dancer
* 2003: Rajiv Gandhi Young Achiever Award
* 2004: Bollywood Fashion Awards; Celebrity Style Male
* 2005: IIFA Awards; Samsung Style Icon
* 2006: Idea Zee F Awards: Youth Style Icon in Films. [19]
* 2007: Filmy's Person of the Year 2006[20]
[edit] Filmography
Year Film Role Other not
2007 Delhi 6 Rohit Announced
2007 Kismat Talkies Starts shooting in March 2007 [1]
2007 Jodhaa Akbar Akbar Filming
2006 I See You Pedestrian in Subah Subah song Special Appearance
2006 Dhoom 2 Aryan / Mr. A/Funny guy Nominated, Filmfare Best Actor Award. [2] Dubbed in Tamil and Telugu with the same title.
2006 Krrish Krishna Mehra aka Krrish/Rohit Mehra Nominated, Filmfare Best Actor Award. [3] Dubbed in Tamil and Telugu with the same title.
2004 Lakshya Karan Shergill Nominated, Filmfare Best Actor Award
2003 Koi... Mil Gaya Rohit Mehra Winner, Filmfare Best Actor Award & Winner, Filmfare Critics Award for Best Performance
2003 Main Prem Ki Diwani Hoon Prem Kishen Mathur
2002 Mujhse Dosti Karoge! Raj
2002 Na Tum Jaano Na Hum Rahul Sharma
2002 Aap Mujhe Achche Lagne Lage Rohit
2001 Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham Rohan Raichand Nominated, Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award
2001 Yaadein Ronit Malhotra
2000 Mission Kashmir Altaf Khan
2000 Fiza Amaan Ikramullah Nominated, Filmfare Best Actor Award
2000 Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai Rohit/Raj Chopra Winner, Filmfare Best Actor Award & Winner, Filmfare Best Debut Award
1986 Bhagwan Dada Govinda (Child artist)
1980 Aap Ke Deewane Child Artist
1980 Aasha Child Artist
Hrithik's first movie role was as a child artist when he was six years old in the 1980 movie Aasha, when he appeared in a dance sequence as an extra. He went on to appear as a child artist in Aap Ki Deewane (1980) and Bhagwan Dada (1986).
As Child artist in Bhagwan Dada (1986)
As Child artist in Bhagwan Dada (1986)
He was an assistant director for his father's films Karan Arjun (1995) and Koyla (1997).
He made his debut as a leading man in the 2000 film Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai opposite another debutante actress Amisha Patel. The film was directed by his father and proved to be very successful at the box office: It was the highest grossing film of 2000 and winner of the Filmfare Best Movie Award. Hrithik's performance earned him the Filmfare Best Debut Award and the Filmfare Best Actor Award. That same year, Hrithik also starred in Fiza and Mission Kashmir which were only moderately successful at the box office.
In 2001, Hrithik starred in Yaadein which was a failure at the box office and Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham which did extremely well at the box office, becoming the second-highest grossing film of 2001.[1]
He had a bad year in 2002 when all three of his releases - Mujhse Dosti Karoge!, Na Tum Jaano Na Hum, Aap Mujhe Achche Lagne Lage - failed to make an impact the box office and were declared flops.[2]
In 2003, his career was back on track with Koi Mil Gaya, which Hrithik's father Rakesh directed. It was the highest grosser of the year. It won many Filmfare Awards, including another Filmfare Best Actor Award for Hrithik.[3]
He only had only one release in 2004, Lakshya, directed by Farhan Akhtar. Lakshya did not do as well at the box office as expected[4] but critics called it his most impressive performance so far.[5]
Hrithik took a two-year break from acting before resurfacing with the superhero film Krrish[6] which released in June 2006. Krrish has been a major box office success.[7]
His most recent release is Dhoom 2, a sequel to the 2004 hit Dhoom, in which he played a negative role (a villain) for the first time. The film released on November 24, 2006 and is the biggest raw grosser in Bollywood history.[8]
His forthcoming films are Jodha-Akbar , Kismat Talkies And Delhi 6 which are scheduled to release in 2007.
[edit] Personal life
Hrithik Roshan was born in Mumbai, India, to Pinky and actor/director Rakesh Roshan. He is the nephew of well-known music director Rajesh Roshan.
Roshan is married to Sussanne Khan (who is now Sussanne Roshan), his high-school sweetheart. Sussanne is the daughter of actor/director Sanjay Khan and sister of actor Zayed Khan. Film clans (see List of Bollywood film clans) tend to intermarry.
Hrithik Roshan and Suzanne Khan/Roshan had their first child, a baby boy, on March 28, 2006, at 3:08pm at Lilavati Hospital in Mumbai, India. The child was named Hrehaan.[9]
[edit] Controversy
In 2000, Hrithik Roshan caused outrage in Nepal, after allegedly bad mouthing the country of Nepal and its people in an interview. [citation needed]
Hrithik courted controversy when, at the London press conference for his 2006 film Krrish, he said that he knew it was time to leave Shanghai and Hong Kong after six weeks of stunt training and go home when his eyes started "turning into little slits like the Chinese".[10]
[edit] Trivia
* Hrithik has a vestigial Thumb on his right hand.[11]
* His film Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai entered the Limca Book of Records in 2003 for the most number of Awards won by a Bollywood Film - 102 awards.[12]
[edit] Awards
[edit] Film Awards
* 2000: Filmfare Best Male Newcomer Award for Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai
* 2000: Filmfare Best Actor Award for Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai
* 2000: IIFA Best Actor Award for Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai
* 2000: Zee Cine Best Male Newcomer Award for Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai
* 2000: Zee Cine Best Actor Award for Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai
* 2000: Sansui Awards: Best Male Newcomer for Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai
* 2000: Star Screen Best Male Newcomer Award for Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai
* 2000: Star Screen Best Actor Award for Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai
* 2000: Aashirwaad Awards: Best Actor for Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai
* 2000: BFJA Awards: Best Actor Critics for Fiza
* 2000: Citizens Awards: Outstanding Contribution to Indian Cinema
* 2000: Filmgoers Awards: Best Actor for Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai
* 2000: Filmgoers Awards: Best Male Newcomer for Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai
* 2000: Filmgoers Awards: Best Actor Critics for Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai
* 2000: Kalashree Awards: Best Actor for Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai
* 2001: Zee Gold Awards: Best Supporting Actor for Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham
* 2003: Anandlok Awards: Best Male Actor for Koi Mil Gaya
* 2003: Apsara Awards: Best Male Actor for Koi Mil Gaya
* 2003: Asian Guild Awards: Best Actor for Koi Mil Gaya
* 2003: Chhoton Ka Funda Awards: Kamaal Da Actor Award for Koi Mil Gaya
* 2003: FICCI Hall Of Fame Awards: Best Actor Award for Koi Mil Gaya
* 2003: Pogo Awards: Best Actor for Koi Mil Gaya
* 2003: Filmfare Best Actor Award for Koi Mil Gaya
* 2003: Filmfare Best Actor Critics Award for Koi Mil Gaya
* 2003: IIFA Best Actor Award for Koi Mil Gaya
* 2003: Zee Cine Best Actor Award for Koi Mil Gaya
* 2003: Sansui Awards: Best Actor for Koi Mil Gaya
* 2003: Star Screen Best Actor Award for Koi Mil Gaya
* 2004: Stardust Best Actor Award for Lakshya[13]
* 2006: Global Indian Film Best Actor Award for Krrish[14]
* 2006: Star Screen Best Actor Award for Krrish[15]
* 2006: Anandlok Awards: Best Male Actor for Krrish [16]
* 2006: Pogo Awards: Most Amazing Actor for Krrish
* 2006: Radio Sargam Bollywood Awards: Best Actor for Krrish[17]
* 2006: Radio Sargam Bollywood Awards: Best Actor In A Negative Role for Dhoom 2 [18]
[edit] Other Awards
* 2001: Bollywood Fashion Awards; Celebrity Style Male
* 2003: Awadh Awards: Outstanding Contribution to Indian Cinema
* 2003: Chhoton Ka Funda Awards: Chhoton Ka Funda Dhishum Dhishum Doley Sholay Award; For swashbuckling muscle and action display for Koi Mil Gaya
* 2003: Chhoton Ka Funda Awards: Chhoton Ka Funda Boogie Woogie Award; for dance performance in It's Magic for Koi Mil Gaya
* 2003: Pogo Awards; Amazing Dancer
* 2003: Rajiv Gandhi Young Achiever Award
* 2004: Bollywood Fashion Awards; Celebrity Style Male
* 2005: IIFA Awards; Samsung Style Icon
* 2006: Idea Zee F Awards: Youth Style Icon in Films. [19]
* 2007: Filmy's Person of the Year 2006[20]
[edit] Filmography
Year Film Role Other not
2007 Delhi 6 Rohit Announced
2007 Kismat Talkies Starts shooting in March 2007 [1]
2007 Jodhaa Akbar Akbar Filming
2006 I See You Pedestrian in Subah Subah song Special Appearance
2006 Dhoom 2 Aryan / Mr. A/Funny guy Nominated, Filmfare Best Actor Award. [2] Dubbed in Tamil and Telugu with the same title.
2006 Krrish Krishna Mehra aka Krrish/Rohit Mehra Nominated, Filmfare Best Actor Award. [3] Dubbed in Tamil and Telugu with the same title.
2004 Lakshya Karan Shergill Nominated, Filmfare Best Actor Award
2003 Koi... Mil Gaya Rohit Mehra Winner, Filmfare Best Actor Award & Winner, Filmfare Critics Award for Best Performance
2003 Main Prem Ki Diwani Hoon Prem Kishen Mathur
2002 Mujhse Dosti Karoge! Raj
2002 Na Tum Jaano Na Hum Rahul Sharma
2002 Aap Mujhe Achche Lagne Lage Rohit
2001 Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham Rohan Raichand Nominated, Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award
2001 Yaadein Ronit Malhotra
2000 Mission Kashmir Altaf Khan
2000 Fiza Amaan Ikramullah Nominated, Filmfare Best Actor Award
2000 Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai Rohit/Raj Chopra Winner, Filmfare Best Actor Award & Winner, Filmfare Best Debut Award
1986 Bhagwan Dada Govinda (Child artist)
1980 Aap Ke Deewane Child Artist
1980 Aasha Child Artist
ludacris
* Ludacris released his major label debut, Back for the First Time, in November 2000. This album was actually a re-release of the album Incognegro. The album reached as high as #4 on the charts, and was a major success. Ludacris made his mark on the industry with singles such as "Southern Hospitality" and "What's Your Fantasy," along with his first ever single "Phat Rabbit", from 2 years prior. Back for the First Time was the beginning of Ludacris's explosion to the top of the rap world.
[edit] Back for the First Time
[edit] Word of Mouf
Ludacris promptly completed his next album, Word of Mouf and released it at the end of 2001. The video for the lead single, "Rollout (My Business)" was nominated for a 2002 VMA, and Ludacris performed it live at the awards' pre-show.
[edit] Chicken-N-Beer
During the spring of 2003, Ludacris returned to the music scene after a brief hiatus with a new single, "Act A Fool" from the 2 Fast 2 Furious soundtrack. At around the same time, he released the lead single from his upcoming album, Chicken-N-Beer, called "P-Poppin" (short for "Pussy Poppin'"). Neither of his new singles were as well-received by either the urban or pop audiences as his previous songs had been, and both music videos received only limited airplay. Chicken-N-Beer opened strongly, but without a popular single, the album fell quickly. However, in the fall of 2003, Ludacris rebounded with his next single, "Stand Up", which appeared on both Chicken-N-Beer as well as the soundtrack for the teen hip-hop/dance movie, Honey. Produced by Kanye West, "Stand Up" went on to become Ludacris' biggest mainstream hit to date, hitting the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 and garnering heavy airplay on mainstream pop, rhythmic, and urban radio stations, as well as on MTV, MTV2, and BET. The album's next single, "Splash Waterfalls", was released in early 2004. Though not a pop hit, it became a success at urban radio and BET. It was Ludacris' most sexual video yet and an R&B remix that featured Raphael Saadiq and sampled Tony! Toni! Tone!'s "Whatever You Want". Ludacris also received his first Grammy Award with Usher and Lil Jon for their hit single "Yeah". Ludacris next released "Blow It Out", a gritty song with an urban, low-budget music video. It was a departure from the colorful, sensual, R&B leanings of "Splash Waterfalls". "Blow It Out" acted both as a response to the criticism levied by Bill O'Reilly and an attack on Pepsi's role in the affair:
Shout out to Bill O'Reilly, I'm'a throw you a curve
You mad cause I'm a thief and got away with words
I'm'a start my own beverage, it'll calm your nerves
Pepsi's the New Generation?—Blow it out cha ass!
On June 1, 2006, a federal jury found that "Stand Up" did not infringe on the copyright of a song called "Straight Like That" by a New Jersey group known as I.O.F. "I hope the plaintiffs enjoyed their 15 minutes of fame," Ludacris said after the verdict. "This whole experience is proof to me of why I will always fight for what I believe in."
[edit] The Red Light District
The fourth studio album from Ludacris. Although not entirely different from the usual antics of the previous albums, Ludacris had taken a more mature approach to his album. Ludacris openly boasted that he may be the only rapper able to keep the Def Jam label afloat on the opening track. Ludacris filmed and recorded the single "Get Back" in which he was featured as a muscle-bound hulk who was being annoyed by the media and warned critics to leave him alone. He was featured on Saturday Night Live playing the song Get Back with Sum 41. The follow-up single was the Austin Powers-inspired "The Number One Spot". It was produced by New York City's Hot 97 personality DJ Green Lantern. It used the Quincy Jones sample of "Soul Bossa Nova" and sped it up to the tempo of Ludacris' rap flow. Ludacris also filmed the video in which he pokes fun at O'Reilly's problems with Andrea Mackris (Hi Mr. O'Reilly / Hope all is well kiss the plaintiff and the wifey). Production credits come also from veteran producers Timbaland, Lil' Jon, The Medicine Men Chris Bridges (from Japan) and legendary rapper Doug E. Fresh. Featured artists on the album include Nas, DJ Quik, DMX, Trick Daddy, and Disturbing tha Peace newcomers Bobby Valentino (of Mista fame) and Dolla Boi and Small World. The album debuted at number one on the Billboard charts. And most recently the rapper had used his opportunity to start his own foundation. The Ludacris Foundation, started by Ludacris and Chaka Zulu, is an organization that helps young middle and high school students motivate themselves in creative arts. Ludacris also has a daughter by the name of Karma. Ludacris had also participated at the Super Bowl and is the spokesman for the Boost Mobile ad-campaign.
[edit] Release Therapy
In a recent issue of XXL, a hip-hop based magazine, Ludacris was placed in the number nine spot for the most anticipated albums of 2006, for Release Therapy. The album Release Therapy was released on September 26, 2006. Ludacris formatted the CD to have two sides: a Release side and a Therapy side. With the Release side having songs that allow him to get everything off his chest and the Therapy side being just feel-good music. The first single, "Money Maker", which features Pharrell, was released to U.S. radio outlets on July 17. [2] "Money Maker" reached number one on the BET 106 & Park Countdown for the first time on September 15, 2006 and later in the US. The album recently reached number 1 on the Billboard 200 album charts with sales of more than 300,000 in its first week. This album was also awarded Rap Album of the year during the 2007 Grammy Awards. With the release of this album, Ludacris marked a change in style in his career with his musical style. A change of hair accompanied this as he cut off his trademark braids for a more conventional "fade" cut. This was done to project a new image for the album.
To promote the album, Ludacris hosted and performed on Saturday Night Live on November 18.
[edit] Acting career
Ludacris (bottom center) appeared in and contributed to the soundtrack for the movie 2 Fast 2 Furious
Ludacris (bottom center) appeared in and contributed to the soundtrack for the movie 2 Fast 2 Furious
Ludacris has been acting in film since The Wash in 2001, but his big break came in 2005, where he received critical praise for his roles in the Oscar-winning films Hustle & Flow and Crash. Crash includes an ironic sequence where Ludacris's character is dismissive of hip-hop music. Interestingly, in both films, he is physically beaten by characters played by Terrence Howard. He is occasionally credited as "Chris 'Ludacris' Bridges".
On January 29, 2006 he was awarded with a Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Cast in a Motion Picture for his work in the film Crash. Ludacris also starred in 2 Fast 2 Furious. Ludacris narrated the 2006 Ward Serrill basketball documentary Heart of the Game.
On March 28, 2006 he appeared in an episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. Ludacris portrayed Darius Randall, the nephew of Detective Odafin Tutuola, portrayed by Ice T.
[edit] Disputes
[edit] Bill O'Reilly
Furthering the Pepsi controversy, in response to the signing of the Osbourne family, popular hip-hop music mogul Russell Simmons organized a boycott against the company. Simmons demanded an apology from Pepsi to Ludacris and a 5 million dollar donation to one of Ludacris' charities. Eventually Simmons and Pepsi settled on an agreement to stop the boycott, right before it was to officially begin. While Pepsi did not formally apologize to Ludacris, they did agree to donate millions of dollars over several years to Russell Simmons Hip-Hop Summit Action Network.
Ludacris' song "Blow It Out" (from the Chicken & Beer album) acted as a scathing response to his critics, namely Bill O'Reilly.[3]
In another song, "Hoes in My Room", he tells a story about anonymous prostitutes being left in his room, and at the end of the last verse says:
"Then it got to my head and Somethin' remind me
I know who let 'em in, it was Bill O'Reilly."
Then, in 2004, in "Number 1 Spot"
"Respected highly, Hi Mr. O'Reilly.
Hope all is well, kiss the plaintiff and the wifey."
When Ludacris hosted Saturday Night Live in 2006, a sketch involved O'Reilly telling a Def Jam executive that he will boycott Def Jam if Ludacris isn't fired. O'Reilly, played by Darrell Hammond, says that although his boycotts have had the opposite effect of his intention, Def Jam's sales will decrease dramatically.
Upon winning the Grammy for Best Rap Album on February 11, 2007, Ludacris included in his thank-yous a "special shout-out to Bill O'Reilly."
The following day Bill O'Reilly responded on his show wih a less than enthusiastic response. He soon began criticizing Ludacris' Grammy win. O'Reilly did not appreciate his lyrics.
[edit] Oprah Winfrey
In a 2006 interview with GQ magazine, Ludacris criticized Oprah Winfrey about his appearance on her show with the cast of the film Crash. [4] During the interview, the conversation veered from the movie and Winfrey chose to speak on Ludacris' lyrical content, which he felt was unfair as he was visiting her show in the capacity of an actor and not a rapper. Also, Ludacris was upset that some of his responses were later edited from the show's airing. He was later joined by other rappers such as 50 Cent, Ice Cube and Killer Mike who argued that Winfrey had an anti-hip hop bias.
Winfrey responded by saying that she's opposed to rap lyrics that "marginalize women," but enjoys some artists, including Jay-Z and Kanye West, who appeared on her show. She said she spoke with Ludacris backstage after his appearance to explain her position and said she understood that his music was for entertainment purposes, but that some of his listeners might take it literally. Ludacris later said the media had blown his comments out of proportion and said he respects Winfrey and considers her "a great individual."[5] At the 2007 Grammy awards Ludacris gave a special shout-out to Oprah Winfrey.
[edit] T.I.
In 2004, before the release of his debut album Straight Outta Ca$hville, Nashville native and G-Unit member Young Buck would enlist the services of fellow Atlanta emcee T.I., also known as T.I.P. in his native Bankhead neighborhood of west side Atlanta. They would create a track entitled "Stomp" amid growing tension between Buck's good friend Ludacris and T.I. On the track, T.I. takes subliminal shots at Ludacris including the line "me gettin' beat down, that's ludicrous." Buck, immediately sensing the tension, decided before releasing the track to notify Ludacris that T.I. had mentioned him since he didn't want to position himself as encouraging T.I.'s actions. Ludacris heard the track and asked Buck if he could add his own verse; to which Buck agreed. The results end up being costly for T.I., as he is berated throughout Ludacris' verse and called out by name in his last line. Representatives from T.I. notified Buck that T.I.'s vocals would not be cleared for the album unless T.I. is allowed to change his verse, and also have Ludacris change his. Buck refused this offer and T.I. prohibited his vocals from being used. Buck had Hypeman and fellow rapper D-Tay replace T.I. on the song; D-Tay himself was eventually replaced by Compton rapper The Game on the official release.
Although T.I. was removed, the street cut featuring him and Ludacris had already been leaked to DJs in Atlanta and New York City. T.I. was unable to stop the track's distribution throughout the streets of the nation at this point. It is widely accepted that T.I. "lost" this battle with Ludacris easily being the victor. The beef between Ludacris and T.I. was then put to an end behind closed doors as T.I. said that the problems between them have ceased.
In 2006 however, T.I. would release his highly anticipated fourth solo album entitled KING. In his Just Blaze produced track titled "I'm Talkin To You," T.I. lyrically attacks one or more unknown targets who have widely been speculated to be either Ludacris, New Orleans rapper Lil Wayne, or Houston rapper Lil' Flip (whom T.I. also had beef with but has since ended their animosity behind closed doors) or a combination of all three. It is still unknown whether or not T.I. was in fact battling Ludacris again or anyone else for that matter at all. A closer listen to the song, however proves that T.I. isn't dissing Ludacris. In one of T.I.s lines he quotes "had it out with 'Cris, but he still my nigga...sat down civilized talked about it like niggas", alluding to the sit down that he and Ludacris had to end their dispute. As a matter of fact during the taping of MTV's My Block 'Atlanta', T.I. and Ludacris are shown greeting each other respectfully.
[edit] Others
In July of 2006, a track entitled "War with God" would see Ludacris return after some time off in movies. In the track, Ludacris goes on the offensive against an unknown rapper who has sold drugs, and makes repeated references to shooting guns in his songs, isn't as rich as he (Ludacris) and likes to give himself titles - all very well known characteristics and facts directly relating to T.I and Young Jeezy (or countless other less popular rappers) or the new coming rappers Yung Joc and Young Dro. In this instance it also unknown whether or not Ludacris is indeed aiming his disses at Young Jeezy, T.I. or if the track is even a song recorded recently. Ludacris recently stated that the song was deeper than just a diss, and the song is more about him than anyone else, it's showing that he isn't just the 'cartoon entertainer' type rapper that he has always been portrayed as, when asked about who specific rhymes were aimed at he said "The guilty will speak". The track was confirmed as a selection from Ludacris' album Release Therapy. The song is not aimed at Young Jeezy as he features on the latest album. Nor is the song aimed at Chingy as Ludacris mentions on BET's Rap City. "War with God" uses a beat written by Don Cheegro and Dirty Harry. He states his relationship with Chingy in his song "Tell It Like it Is".
"What's worse than havin' no money is havin' it and losin' it
What's worse than havin' some money is grabbin' and abusin' it
We never took no money from Chingy, thought I was cool wit him
I wish his ass well, but I don't want nothin' to do with him"
[edit] Personal life
Ludacris has a daughter named Karma with his longtime girlfriend Kiante. According to comments made at the 2007 Grammy Awards ceremony, his father has been very ill recently; this has led to a string of concert postponements. [1]
[edit] Discography
[edit] Solo albums
Album cover Album information
Back for the First Time
* Released: November 4, 2000
* Chart positions: #4 US
* RIAA certification: 3x Platinum
* U.S. Sales: 3.2 million
* Worldwide Sales:
* Singles: "What's Your Fantasy", "Southern Hospitality", "Ho"
Word of Mouf
* Released: December 15, 2001
* Chart positions: #3 US
* RIAA certification: 4x Platinum
* U.S. Sales: 3.8 million
* Worldwide Sales:
* Singles: "Rollout (My Business)", "Area Codes ", "Saturday (Oooh Oooh!)", "Move Bitch", "Welcome to Atlanta"
Chicken-N-Beer
* Released: October 25, 2003
* Chart positions: #1 US
* RIAA certification: 3x Platinum
* U.S. Sales: 2.8 million
* Worldwide Sales:
* Singles: "Stand Up", "Splash Waterfalls", "Blow It Out", "Diamond In The Back"
The Red Light District
* Released: December 7, 2004
* Chart positions: #1 US
* RIAA certification: 2x Platinum
* U.S. Sales: 2.1 million
* Worldwide Sales:
* Singles: "Get Back", "Number One Spot", "Pimpin' All Over the World"
Release Therapy
* Released: September 26, 2006
* Chart positions: #1 US
* RIAA certification: 2x Platinum
* U.S. Sales: 2 million
* Worldwide Sales:
* Singles: "Money Maker", "Grew Up a Screw Up", "Runaway Love", "Girls Gone Wild"
Theater of the Mind
* Released: 2007/2008
* Chart positions: TBA
* RIAA certification: Platinum
* Singles: TBA
[edit] Disturbing tha Peace albums
Album cover Album information
Golden Grain
* Released: September 10, 2002
* Chart positions: #89 US
* RIAA description:
* Singles: "Growing Pains (Do It Again) Remix"
Ludacris Presents: Disturbing tha Peace
* Released: December 13, 2005
* Chart positions: #11 US
* RIAA certification Gold
Singles: "Sweet Revenge", "Gettin' Some", "DTP For Life", "2 Miles An Hour Remix"
[edit] Singles
Year Song U.S. Hot 100 U.S. R&B U.S. Rap UK singles Album
2000 "What's Your Fantasy" (featuring Shawnna) 21 10 12 19 Back for the First Time
2000 "Southern Hospitality" 23 6 5 - Back For The First Time
2001 "Area Codes" (featuring Nate Dogg) 24 10 7 25 Word of Mouf / Rush Hour 2
2001 "Rollout (My Business)" 17 7 20 20 Word of Mouf
2002 "Saturday (Oooh! Oooh!)" (featuring Sleepy Brown) 22 10 10 31 Word of Mouf
2002 "Move Bitch!" (featuring Mysikal & I-20) 10 3 3 - Word of Mouf
2002 "Welcome to Atlanta" (with Jermaine Dupri) 35 15 - - Word of Mouf
2003 "Act a Fool" 32 20 10 - 2 Fast 2 Furious soundtrack
2003 "Stand Up" (featuring Shawnna) 1 1 1 14 Chicken-N-Beer
2004 "Splash Waterfalls" (featuring Sandy Coffee) 6 2 3 - Chicken-N-Beer
2004 "Diamond in the Back" 94 51 - - Chicken-N-Beer
2004 "Blow It Out" 79 65 45 - Chicken-N-Beer
2004 "Get Back" 13 9 5 30 The Red Light District
2005 "Number One Spot" 19 8 6 30 The Red Light District
2005 "The Potion" - 65 - - The Red Light District
2005 "Pimpin' All Over the World" (featuring Bobby Valentino) 9 5 2 - The Red Light District
2006 "Money Maker" (featuring Pharrell) 1 1 1 - Release Therapy
2006 "Grew Up a Screw Up" (featuring Young Jeezy) - - - - Release Therapy
2006 "Runaway Love" (featuring Mary J. Blige) 2 3 1 52 Release Therapy
2007 "Girls Gone Wild" - - - 52 Release Therapy
Notes:
1 "Get Back" and "Number One Spot" were released as a double A-side single in the UK as were "Runaway Love" and "Girls Gone Wild".
[edit] Featured singles
Year Song U.S. Hot 100 U.S. R&B U.S. Rap UK singles Album
2001 "One Minute Man" Missy Elliott (featuring Ludacris) 15 8 - 10 Miss E ...So Addictive
2001 "Loverboy" Mariah Carey (featuring Da Brat, Shawnna, & Ludacris) 2 1 - 12 Glitter
2001 "Fatty Girl" (with LL Cool J & Keith Murray) 87 32 6 - The Good Life & He's Keith Murray
2001 "Bia Bia" (Lil Jon featuring Ludacris, Too Short, Chyna Whyte) Put Yo Hood Up
2002 "Growing Pains (Remix)" (Ludacris & DTP featuring Scarface) - 81 45 - Golden Grain
2002 "B R Right" Trina (featuring Ludacris) 83 5 24 - Diamond Princess
2003 "Holidae In" Chingy (featuring Snoop Dogg & Ludacris) 3 2 2 35 Jackpot
2003 "Gossip Folks" Missy Elliott (featuring Ludacris) 8 5 2 9 Under Construction
2003 "Hot and Wet" 112 (featuring Ludacris) - - - - Hot and Wet
2004 "Yeah!" Usher (featuring Ludacris and Lil Jon) 1 1 1 1 Confessions
2005 "Break Bread" I-20 (featuring Ludacris & Bonecrusher) - - - - Self-Explanatory
2005 "Lovers and Friends" Lil Jon (featuring Usher & Ludacris) 3 2 - 10 Crunk Juice
2005 "Oh" Ciara (featuring Ludacris) 2 6 - 4 Goodies
2005 "Shake That Shit" Shawnna (featuring Ludacris) 63 - - - Worth Tha Weight
2005 "Virgo" Nas (featuring Ludacris & Doug E. Fresh) - 69 - - Street Disciple/The Red Light District
2006 "Unpredictable" Jamie Foxx (featuring Ludacris) 9 2 - 16 Unpredictable
2006 "Georgia" Field Mob (featuring Ludacris & Jamie Foxx) 39 31 21 - Light Poles and Pine Trees
2006 "Need a Boss" Shareefa (featuring Ludacris) 62 10 - - Point of No Return
2007 "Glamorous" Fergie (featuring Ludacris) 9 - - 56 The Dutchess
[edit] Filmography
* 2001: The Wash
* 2003: 2 Fast 2 Furious
* 2003: Lil' Pimp
* 2005: Crash
* 2005: Hustle & Flow
* 2006: The Heart of the Game (Narrator)
* 2007: Ballers
* 2007: Fred Claus
* 2008: Luda Camp
* 2009: Courtney and Me
[edit] Grammy Awards
* Career Wins: 3
* Career Nominations: 16
Category Genre Album/Song Year Result
Best Rap Album Rap Back For the First Time 2001 Nominated
Best Rap/Sung Collaboration Rap "Area Codes" 2002 Nominated
Best Short Form Music Video Music Video "One Minute Man" (with Missy Elliott) 2002 Nominated
Best Male Rap Solo Performance Rap "Roll Out (My Business)" 2003 Nominated
Best Rap Album Rap Word of Mouf 2003 Nominated
Best Male Rap Solo Performance Rap "Stand Up" 2004 Nominated
Best Rap Performance By a Duo or Group Rap "Gossip Folks" (with Missy Elliott) 2004 Nominated
Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television Special Motion Picture "Act A Fool" 2004 Nominated
Best Rap/Song Collaboration Rap "Yeah" (with Usher) 2005 Won
Record of the Year General "Yeah!" (with Usher) 2005 Nominated
Best R&B Song R&B "Yeah!" (with Usher) 2005 Nominated
Best Rap Solo Performance Rap "Number 1 Spot" 2006 Nominated
Best Rap/Sung Collaboration Rap "Unpredictable" (with Jamie Foxx) 2007 Nominated
Best Rap Album Rap Release Therapy 2007 Won
Best Rap Song Rap "Money Maker" (with Pharrell) 2007 Won
Best Rap Performance By A Duo Or Group Rap "Georgia" (with Field Mob) 2007 Nominated
[edit] Film awards and nominations
* BET Award
o 2006, Best Actor: (Nominated)
* Black Movie Awards
o 2005, Best Supporting Actor: Crash (Nominated)
* Black Reel Award
o 2006, Best Supporting Actor: Crash (Nominated)
* Chicago Film Critics
o 2006, Most Promising Newcomer: Crash (Nominated)
* Image Awards
o 2006, Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture: Crash (Nominated)
* MTV Movie Awards
o 2004, Best Male Breakthrough Performance: 2 Fast 2 Furious (Nominated)
* Screen Actors Guild
o 2006, Outstanding Cast in a Motion Picture: Crash (Winner)
o 2006, Outstanding Cast in a Motion Picture: Hustle & Flow (Nominated)
[edit] Trivia
* Ludacris' uncle is the stepfather of R & B singer Monica. Her son is his godson.
* Attended Oak Park River Forest High School for one year before attending Benjamin Banneker High School located in College Park. He later attended Georgia State University. [6]
* Ludacris is an intentional misspelling of the term ludicrous.
* Ludacris has a cameo appearance on Stat Quo's video "Like Dat", playing pool with Young Buck and Bun B.
* Ludacris has a 5 year old daughter named Karma.
* As a child, Ludacris use to be terrified by clowns until he was 13, which he had been made fun of by most of his friends.
* Ludacris has a total of 3 #1 hit singles, 14 top 10 singles, and 18 top 20 singles so far in his career.
[edit] Back for the First Time
[edit] Word of Mouf
Ludacris promptly completed his next album, Word of Mouf and released it at the end of 2001. The video for the lead single, "Rollout (My Business)" was nominated for a 2002 VMA, and Ludacris performed it live at the awards' pre-show.
[edit] Chicken-N-Beer
During the spring of 2003, Ludacris returned to the music scene after a brief hiatus with a new single, "Act A Fool" from the 2 Fast 2 Furious soundtrack. At around the same time, he released the lead single from his upcoming album, Chicken-N-Beer, called "P-Poppin" (short for "Pussy Poppin'"). Neither of his new singles were as well-received by either the urban or pop audiences as his previous songs had been, and both music videos received only limited airplay. Chicken-N-Beer opened strongly, but without a popular single, the album fell quickly. However, in the fall of 2003, Ludacris rebounded with his next single, "Stand Up", which appeared on both Chicken-N-Beer as well as the soundtrack for the teen hip-hop/dance movie, Honey. Produced by Kanye West, "Stand Up" went on to become Ludacris' biggest mainstream hit to date, hitting the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 and garnering heavy airplay on mainstream pop, rhythmic, and urban radio stations, as well as on MTV, MTV2, and BET. The album's next single, "Splash Waterfalls", was released in early 2004. Though not a pop hit, it became a success at urban radio and BET. It was Ludacris' most sexual video yet and an R&B remix that featured Raphael Saadiq and sampled Tony! Toni! Tone!'s "Whatever You Want". Ludacris also received his first Grammy Award with Usher and Lil Jon for their hit single "Yeah". Ludacris next released "Blow It Out", a gritty song with an urban, low-budget music video. It was a departure from the colorful, sensual, R&B leanings of "Splash Waterfalls". "Blow It Out" acted both as a response to the criticism levied by Bill O'Reilly and an attack on Pepsi's role in the affair:
Shout out to Bill O'Reilly, I'm'a throw you a curve
You mad cause I'm a thief and got away with words
I'm'a start my own beverage, it'll calm your nerves
Pepsi's the New Generation?—Blow it out cha ass!
On June 1, 2006, a federal jury found that "Stand Up" did not infringe on the copyright of a song called "Straight Like That" by a New Jersey group known as I.O.F. "I hope the plaintiffs enjoyed their 15 minutes of fame," Ludacris said after the verdict. "This whole experience is proof to me of why I will always fight for what I believe in."
[edit] The Red Light District
The fourth studio album from Ludacris. Although not entirely different from the usual antics of the previous albums, Ludacris had taken a more mature approach to his album. Ludacris openly boasted that he may be the only rapper able to keep the Def Jam label afloat on the opening track. Ludacris filmed and recorded the single "Get Back" in which he was featured as a muscle-bound hulk who was being annoyed by the media and warned critics to leave him alone. He was featured on Saturday Night Live playing the song Get Back with Sum 41. The follow-up single was the Austin Powers-inspired "The Number One Spot". It was produced by New York City's Hot 97 personality DJ Green Lantern. It used the Quincy Jones sample of "Soul Bossa Nova" and sped it up to the tempo of Ludacris' rap flow. Ludacris also filmed the video in which he pokes fun at O'Reilly's problems with Andrea Mackris (Hi Mr. O'Reilly / Hope all is well kiss the plaintiff and the wifey). Production credits come also from veteran producers Timbaland, Lil' Jon, The Medicine Men Chris Bridges (from Japan) and legendary rapper Doug E. Fresh. Featured artists on the album include Nas, DJ Quik, DMX, Trick Daddy, and Disturbing tha Peace newcomers Bobby Valentino (of Mista fame) and Dolla Boi and Small World. The album debuted at number one on the Billboard charts. And most recently the rapper had used his opportunity to start his own foundation. The Ludacris Foundation, started by Ludacris and Chaka Zulu, is an organization that helps young middle and high school students motivate themselves in creative arts. Ludacris also has a daughter by the name of Karma. Ludacris had also participated at the Super Bowl and is the spokesman for the Boost Mobile ad-campaign.
[edit] Release Therapy
In a recent issue of XXL, a hip-hop based magazine, Ludacris was placed in the number nine spot for the most anticipated albums of 2006, for Release Therapy. The album Release Therapy was released on September 26, 2006. Ludacris formatted the CD to have two sides: a Release side and a Therapy side. With the Release side having songs that allow him to get everything off his chest and the Therapy side being just feel-good music. The first single, "Money Maker", which features Pharrell, was released to U.S. radio outlets on July 17. [2] "Money Maker" reached number one on the BET 106 & Park Countdown for the first time on September 15, 2006 and later in the US. The album recently reached number 1 on the Billboard 200 album charts with sales of more than 300,000 in its first week. This album was also awarded Rap Album of the year during the 2007 Grammy Awards. With the release of this album, Ludacris marked a change in style in his career with his musical style. A change of hair accompanied this as he cut off his trademark braids for a more conventional "fade" cut. This was done to project a new image for the album.
To promote the album, Ludacris hosted and performed on Saturday Night Live on November 18.
[edit] Acting career
Ludacris (bottom center) appeared in and contributed to the soundtrack for the movie 2 Fast 2 Furious
Ludacris (bottom center) appeared in and contributed to the soundtrack for the movie 2 Fast 2 Furious
Ludacris has been acting in film since The Wash in 2001, but his big break came in 2005, where he received critical praise for his roles in the Oscar-winning films Hustle & Flow and Crash. Crash includes an ironic sequence where Ludacris's character is dismissive of hip-hop music. Interestingly, in both films, he is physically beaten by characters played by Terrence Howard. He is occasionally credited as "Chris 'Ludacris' Bridges".
On January 29, 2006 he was awarded with a Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Cast in a Motion Picture for his work in the film Crash. Ludacris also starred in 2 Fast 2 Furious. Ludacris narrated the 2006 Ward Serrill basketball documentary Heart of the Game.
On March 28, 2006 he appeared in an episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. Ludacris portrayed Darius Randall, the nephew of Detective Odafin Tutuola, portrayed by Ice T.
[edit] Disputes
[edit] Bill O'Reilly
Furthering the Pepsi controversy, in response to the signing of the Osbourne family, popular hip-hop music mogul Russell Simmons organized a boycott against the company. Simmons demanded an apology from Pepsi to Ludacris and a 5 million dollar donation to one of Ludacris' charities. Eventually Simmons and Pepsi settled on an agreement to stop the boycott, right before it was to officially begin. While Pepsi did not formally apologize to Ludacris, they did agree to donate millions of dollars over several years to Russell Simmons Hip-Hop Summit Action Network.
Ludacris' song "Blow It Out" (from the Chicken & Beer album) acted as a scathing response to his critics, namely Bill O'Reilly.[3]
In another song, "Hoes in My Room", he tells a story about anonymous prostitutes being left in his room, and at the end of the last verse says:
"Then it got to my head and Somethin' remind me
I know who let 'em in, it was Bill O'Reilly."
Then, in 2004, in "Number 1 Spot"
"Respected highly, Hi Mr. O'Reilly.
Hope all is well, kiss the plaintiff and the wifey."
When Ludacris hosted Saturday Night Live in 2006, a sketch involved O'Reilly telling a Def Jam executive that he will boycott Def Jam if Ludacris isn't fired. O'Reilly, played by Darrell Hammond, says that although his boycotts have had the opposite effect of his intention, Def Jam's sales will decrease dramatically.
Upon winning the Grammy for Best Rap Album on February 11, 2007, Ludacris included in his thank-yous a "special shout-out to Bill O'Reilly."
The following day Bill O'Reilly responded on his show wih a less than enthusiastic response. He soon began criticizing Ludacris' Grammy win. O'Reilly did not appreciate his lyrics.
[edit] Oprah Winfrey
In a 2006 interview with GQ magazine, Ludacris criticized Oprah Winfrey about his appearance on her show with the cast of the film Crash. [4] During the interview, the conversation veered from the movie and Winfrey chose to speak on Ludacris' lyrical content, which he felt was unfair as he was visiting her show in the capacity of an actor and not a rapper. Also, Ludacris was upset that some of his responses were later edited from the show's airing. He was later joined by other rappers such as 50 Cent, Ice Cube and Killer Mike who argued that Winfrey had an anti-hip hop bias.
Winfrey responded by saying that she's opposed to rap lyrics that "marginalize women," but enjoys some artists, including Jay-Z and Kanye West, who appeared on her show. She said she spoke with Ludacris backstage after his appearance to explain her position and said she understood that his music was for entertainment purposes, but that some of his listeners might take it literally. Ludacris later said the media had blown his comments out of proportion and said he respects Winfrey and considers her "a great individual."[5] At the 2007 Grammy awards Ludacris gave a special shout-out to Oprah Winfrey.
[edit] T.I.
In 2004, before the release of his debut album Straight Outta Ca$hville, Nashville native and G-Unit member Young Buck would enlist the services of fellow Atlanta emcee T.I., also known as T.I.P. in his native Bankhead neighborhood of west side Atlanta. They would create a track entitled "Stomp" amid growing tension between Buck's good friend Ludacris and T.I. On the track, T.I. takes subliminal shots at Ludacris including the line "me gettin' beat down, that's ludicrous." Buck, immediately sensing the tension, decided before releasing the track to notify Ludacris that T.I. had mentioned him since he didn't want to position himself as encouraging T.I.'s actions. Ludacris heard the track and asked Buck if he could add his own verse; to which Buck agreed. The results end up being costly for T.I., as he is berated throughout Ludacris' verse and called out by name in his last line. Representatives from T.I. notified Buck that T.I.'s vocals would not be cleared for the album unless T.I. is allowed to change his verse, and also have Ludacris change his. Buck refused this offer and T.I. prohibited his vocals from being used. Buck had Hypeman and fellow rapper D-Tay replace T.I. on the song; D-Tay himself was eventually replaced by Compton rapper The Game on the official release.
Although T.I. was removed, the street cut featuring him and Ludacris had already been leaked to DJs in Atlanta and New York City. T.I. was unable to stop the track's distribution throughout the streets of the nation at this point. It is widely accepted that T.I. "lost" this battle with Ludacris easily being the victor. The beef between Ludacris and T.I. was then put to an end behind closed doors as T.I. said that the problems between them have ceased.
In 2006 however, T.I. would release his highly anticipated fourth solo album entitled KING. In his Just Blaze produced track titled "I'm Talkin To You," T.I. lyrically attacks one or more unknown targets who have widely been speculated to be either Ludacris, New Orleans rapper Lil Wayne, or Houston rapper Lil' Flip (whom T.I. also had beef with but has since ended their animosity behind closed doors) or a combination of all three. It is still unknown whether or not T.I. was in fact battling Ludacris again or anyone else for that matter at all. A closer listen to the song, however proves that T.I. isn't dissing Ludacris. In one of T.I.s lines he quotes "had it out with 'Cris, but he still my nigga...sat down civilized talked about it like niggas", alluding to the sit down that he and Ludacris had to end their dispute. As a matter of fact during the taping of MTV's My Block 'Atlanta', T.I. and Ludacris are shown greeting each other respectfully.
[edit] Others
In July of 2006, a track entitled "War with God" would see Ludacris return after some time off in movies. In the track, Ludacris goes on the offensive against an unknown rapper who has sold drugs, and makes repeated references to shooting guns in his songs, isn't as rich as he (Ludacris) and likes to give himself titles - all very well known characteristics and facts directly relating to T.I and Young Jeezy (or countless other less popular rappers) or the new coming rappers Yung Joc and Young Dro. In this instance it also unknown whether or not Ludacris is indeed aiming his disses at Young Jeezy, T.I. or if the track is even a song recorded recently. Ludacris recently stated that the song was deeper than just a diss, and the song is more about him than anyone else, it's showing that he isn't just the 'cartoon entertainer' type rapper that he has always been portrayed as, when asked about who specific rhymes were aimed at he said "The guilty will speak". The track was confirmed as a selection from Ludacris' album Release Therapy. The song is not aimed at Young Jeezy as he features on the latest album. Nor is the song aimed at Chingy as Ludacris mentions on BET's Rap City. "War with God" uses a beat written by Don Cheegro and Dirty Harry. He states his relationship with Chingy in his song "Tell It Like it Is".
"What's worse than havin' no money is havin' it and losin' it
What's worse than havin' some money is grabbin' and abusin' it
We never took no money from Chingy, thought I was cool wit him
I wish his ass well, but I don't want nothin' to do with him"
[edit] Personal life
Ludacris has a daughter named Karma with his longtime girlfriend Kiante. According to comments made at the 2007 Grammy Awards ceremony, his father has been very ill recently; this has led to a string of concert postponements. [1]
[edit] Discography
[edit] Solo albums
Album cover Album information
Back for the First Time
* Released: November 4, 2000
* Chart positions: #4 US
* RIAA certification: 3x Platinum
* U.S. Sales: 3.2 million
* Worldwide Sales:
* Singles: "What's Your Fantasy", "Southern Hospitality", "Ho"
Word of Mouf
* Released: December 15, 2001
* Chart positions: #3 US
* RIAA certification: 4x Platinum
* U.S. Sales: 3.8 million
* Worldwide Sales:
* Singles: "Rollout (My Business)", "Area Codes ", "Saturday (Oooh Oooh!)", "Move Bitch", "Welcome to Atlanta"
Chicken-N-Beer
* Released: October 25, 2003
* Chart positions: #1 US
* RIAA certification: 3x Platinum
* U.S. Sales: 2.8 million
* Worldwide Sales:
* Singles: "Stand Up", "Splash Waterfalls", "Blow It Out", "Diamond In The Back"
The Red Light District
* Released: December 7, 2004
* Chart positions: #1 US
* RIAA certification: 2x Platinum
* U.S. Sales: 2.1 million
* Worldwide Sales:
* Singles: "Get Back", "Number One Spot", "Pimpin' All Over the World"
Release Therapy
* Released: September 26, 2006
* Chart positions: #1 US
* RIAA certification: 2x Platinum
* U.S. Sales: 2 million
* Worldwide Sales:
* Singles: "Money Maker", "Grew Up a Screw Up", "Runaway Love", "Girls Gone Wild"
Theater of the Mind
* Released: 2007/2008
* Chart positions: TBA
* RIAA certification: Platinum
* Singles: TBA
[edit] Disturbing tha Peace albums
Album cover Album information
Golden Grain
* Released: September 10, 2002
* Chart positions: #89 US
* RIAA description:
* Singles: "Growing Pains (Do It Again) Remix"
Ludacris Presents: Disturbing tha Peace
* Released: December 13, 2005
* Chart positions: #11 US
* RIAA certification Gold
Singles: "Sweet Revenge", "Gettin' Some", "DTP For Life", "2 Miles An Hour Remix"
[edit] Singles
Year Song U.S. Hot 100 U.S. R&B U.S. Rap UK singles Album
2000 "What's Your Fantasy" (featuring Shawnna) 21 10 12 19 Back for the First Time
2000 "Southern Hospitality" 23 6 5 - Back For The First Time
2001 "Area Codes" (featuring Nate Dogg) 24 10 7 25 Word of Mouf / Rush Hour 2
2001 "Rollout (My Business)" 17 7 20 20 Word of Mouf
2002 "Saturday (Oooh! Oooh!)" (featuring Sleepy Brown) 22 10 10 31 Word of Mouf
2002 "Move Bitch!" (featuring Mysikal & I-20) 10 3 3 - Word of Mouf
2002 "Welcome to Atlanta" (with Jermaine Dupri) 35 15 - - Word of Mouf
2003 "Act a Fool" 32 20 10 - 2 Fast 2 Furious soundtrack
2003 "Stand Up" (featuring Shawnna) 1 1 1 14 Chicken-N-Beer
2004 "Splash Waterfalls" (featuring Sandy Coffee) 6 2 3 - Chicken-N-Beer
2004 "Diamond in the Back" 94 51 - - Chicken-N-Beer
2004 "Blow It Out" 79 65 45 - Chicken-N-Beer
2004 "Get Back" 13 9 5 30 The Red Light District
2005 "Number One Spot" 19 8 6 30 The Red Light District
2005 "The Potion" - 65 - - The Red Light District
2005 "Pimpin' All Over the World" (featuring Bobby Valentino) 9 5 2 - The Red Light District
2006 "Money Maker" (featuring Pharrell) 1 1 1 - Release Therapy
2006 "Grew Up a Screw Up" (featuring Young Jeezy) - - - - Release Therapy
2006 "Runaway Love" (featuring Mary J. Blige) 2 3 1 52 Release Therapy
2007 "Girls Gone Wild" - - - 52 Release Therapy
Notes:
1 "Get Back" and "Number One Spot" were released as a double A-side single in the UK as were "Runaway Love" and "Girls Gone Wild".
[edit] Featured singles
Year Song U.S. Hot 100 U.S. R&B U.S. Rap UK singles Album
2001 "One Minute Man" Missy Elliott (featuring Ludacris) 15 8 - 10 Miss E ...So Addictive
2001 "Loverboy" Mariah Carey (featuring Da Brat, Shawnna, & Ludacris) 2 1 - 12 Glitter
2001 "Fatty Girl" (with LL Cool J & Keith Murray) 87 32 6 - The Good Life & He's Keith Murray
2001 "Bia Bia" (Lil Jon featuring Ludacris, Too Short, Chyna Whyte) Put Yo Hood Up
2002 "Growing Pains (Remix)" (Ludacris & DTP featuring Scarface) - 81 45 - Golden Grain
2002 "B R Right" Trina (featuring Ludacris) 83 5 24 - Diamond Princess
2003 "Holidae In" Chingy (featuring Snoop Dogg & Ludacris) 3 2 2 35 Jackpot
2003 "Gossip Folks" Missy Elliott (featuring Ludacris) 8 5 2 9 Under Construction
2003 "Hot and Wet" 112 (featuring Ludacris) - - - - Hot and Wet
2004 "Yeah!" Usher (featuring Ludacris and Lil Jon) 1 1 1 1 Confessions
2005 "Break Bread" I-20 (featuring Ludacris & Bonecrusher) - - - - Self-Explanatory
2005 "Lovers and Friends" Lil Jon (featuring Usher & Ludacris) 3 2 - 10 Crunk Juice
2005 "Oh" Ciara (featuring Ludacris) 2 6 - 4 Goodies
2005 "Shake That Shit" Shawnna (featuring Ludacris) 63 - - - Worth Tha Weight
2005 "Virgo" Nas (featuring Ludacris & Doug E. Fresh) - 69 - - Street Disciple/The Red Light District
2006 "Unpredictable" Jamie Foxx (featuring Ludacris) 9 2 - 16 Unpredictable
2006 "Georgia" Field Mob (featuring Ludacris & Jamie Foxx) 39 31 21 - Light Poles and Pine Trees
2006 "Need a Boss" Shareefa (featuring Ludacris) 62 10 - - Point of No Return
2007 "Glamorous" Fergie (featuring Ludacris) 9 - - 56 The Dutchess
[edit] Filmography
* 2001: The Wash
* 2003: 2 Fast 2 Furious
* 2003: Lil' Pimp
* 2005: Crash
* 2005: Hustle & Flow
* 2006: The Heart of the Game (Narrator)
* 2007: Ballers
* 2007: Fred Claus
* 2008: Luda Camp
* 2009: Courtney and Me
[edit] Grammy Awards
* Career Wins: 3
* Career Nominations: 16
Category Genre Album/Song Year Result
Best Rap Album Rap Back For the First Time 2001 Nominated
Best Rap/Sung Collaboration Rap "Area Codes" 2002 Nominated
Best Short Form Music Video Music Video "One Minute Man" (with Missy Elliott) 2002 Nominated
Best Male Rap Solo Performance Rap "Roll Out (My Business)" 2003 Nominated
Best Rap Album Rap Word of Mouf 2003 Nominated
Best Male Rap Solo Performance Rap "Stand Up" 2004 Nominated
Best Rap Performance By a Duo or Group Rap "Gossip Folks" (with Missy Elliott) 2004 Nominated
Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television Special Motion Picture "Act A Fool" 2004 Nominated
Best Rap/Song Collaboration Rap "Yeah" (with Usher) 2005 Won
Record of the Year General "Yeah!" (with Usher) 2005 Nominated
Best R&B Song R&B "Yeah!" (with Usher) 2005 Nominated
Best Rap Solo Performance Rap "Number 1 Spot" 2006 Nominated
Best Rap/Sung Collaboration Rap "Unpredictable" (with Jamie Foxx) 2007 Nominated
Best Rap Album Rap Release Therapy 2007 Won
Best Rap Song Rap "Money Maker" (with Pharrell) 2007 Won
Best Rap Performance By A Duo Or Group Rap "Georgia" (with Field Mob) 2007 Nominated
[edit] Film awards and nominations
* BET Award
o 2006, Best Actor: (Nominated)
* Black Movie Awards
o 2005, Best Supporting Actor: Crash (Nominated)
* Black Reel Award
o 2006, Best Supporting Actor: Crash (Nominated)
* Chicago Film Critics
o 2006, Most Promising Newcomer: Crash (Nominated)
* Image Awards
o 2006, Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture: Crash (Nominated)
* MTV Movie Awards
o 2004, Best Male Breakthrough Performance: 2 Fast 2 Furious (Nominated)
* Screen Actors Guild
o 2006, Outstanding Cast in a Motion Picture: Crash (Winner)
o 2006, Outstanding Cast in a Motion Picture: Hustle & Flow (Nominated)
[edit] Trivia
* Ludacris' uncle is the stepfather of R & B singer Monica. Her son is his godson.
* Attended Oak Park River Forest High School for one year before attending Benjamin Banneker High School located in College Park. He later attended Georgia State University. [6]
* Ludacris is an intentional misspelling of the term ludicrous.
* Ludacris has a cameo appearance on Stat Quo's video "Like Dat", playing pool with Young Buck and Bun B.
* Ludacris has a 5 year old daughter named Karma.
* As a child, Ludacris use to be terrified by clowns until he was 13, which he had been made fun of by most of his friends.
* Ludacris has a total of 3 #1 hit singles, 14 top 10 singles, and 18 top 20 singles so far in his career.
paris-perfect holiday
Paris is the capital city of France. It is situated on the River Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region ("Region Parisienne"). Paris has an estimated population of 2,153,600 inhabitants within city limits (2005 est.)[2]. The Paris urban area has a population of 9.93 million[3]; a vast commuter belt around the same completes the Paris "aire urbaine" (roughly: "metropolitan area") that, with its population of 11.5 million[4], is one of the most populated areas of its kind in Europe.[5]
The Paris region (Île-de-France) is France's foremost centre of economic activity. With €478.7 billion (US$595.3 billion), it produced more than a quarter of the gross domestic product (GDP) of France in 2005.[6]With La Defense, the largest purpose built business district in Europe, it hosts the head offices of almost half of the major French companies, as well as the headquarters of ten of the world's 100 largest companies[7]. Paris also hosts many international organizations such as UNESCO, the OECD, the ICC, or the informal Paris Club. It is regarded as one of the 4 major global cities[8].
Paris' strategic location at a crossroads between land and river trade routes in lands of abundant agriculture had made it one of France's principal cities by the 10th century, rich with Royal palaces and demurs, wealthy Abbeys and a cathedral; by the 12th century Paris had become one of Europe's foremost centres of learning and the arts. Today, Paris is an influential centre in politics, fashion, business, arts and science. The city serves as an important hub of intercontinental transportation and is home to some of the most prominent universities, sport events, opera companies and museums[9][10], making it an attraction for over 30 million foreign visitors per year[11].
Contents
[hide]
* 1 History
o 1.1 Origin of the name
o 1.2 Early beginnings
o 1.3 Middle ages
o 1.4 Nineteenth century
o 1.5 Twentieth century
* 2 Geography
o 2.1 Topography
o 2.2 Climate
* 3 Cityscape
o 3.1 Urbanism and architecture
o 3.2 Districts and historical centres
o 3.3 Parks and gardens
o 3.4 Cemeteries
* 4 Culture
o 4.1 Monuments and landmarks
o 4.2 Museums
o 4.3 Entertainment
o 4.4 Cafés, restaurants and hotels
o 4.5 Tourism
o 4.6 Sports
* 5 Economy
o 5.1 Organisation
o 5.2 Sectors
* 6 Demography
o 6.1 Density
o 6.2 The Paris agglomeration
o 6.3 Immigration
* 7 Administration
o 7.1 Capital of France
o 7.2 City government
o 7.3 Municipal offices
o 7.4 Capital of the Île-de-France région
o 7.5 Intercommunality
* 8 Education
o 8.1 Primary and secondary education
o 8.2 Higher education
o 8.3 Universities
o 8.4 Grandes écoles
* 9 Infrastructure
o 9.1 Transport
o 9.2 Water and sanitation
* 10 International Relations
* 11 References
* 12 Bibliography
* 13 See also
* 14 External links
[edit] History
Main articles: History of Paris and Name of Paris and its inhabitants
[edit] Origin of the name
Paris is pronounced "[ˈpʰæɹɪs]" in English and "[paʀi] (help·info)" in French. The city derives its name from that of its pre-Roman-era inhabitants, the Gallic Parisii tribe. The city became known as Lutetia (/lutetja/) during the first to fifth century Roman occupation, but began to adopt its present-day name towards the end of this period.
Paris has many nicknames, but its most famous is 'The City of Light' (La Ville-lumière), a name it owes both to its fame as a centre of education and ideas and its early adoption of street-lighting. Paris since the early 20th century has also been known in parisian slang as Paname ([panam]; Moi j'suis d'Paname (help·info), i.e. "I'm from Paname"), a slang name that has been regaining favor with young people in recent years.
Paris' inhabitants are known in English as "Parisians" ([pʰəˈɹɪzɪənz] or [pʰəˈɹiːʒn̩z]) and as Parisiens ([paʀizjɛ̃] (help·info)) in French. Parisians are often pejoratively called Parigots ([paʀigo] (help·info))by those living outside the Paris Region, but this is a term sometimes considered endearing by Parisians themselves.
See Wiktionary for the name of Paris in various languages other than English and French.
[edit] Early beginnings
The earliest signs of permanent habitation in the Paris area date from around 4200 BC[12]. Known boatsmen and traders, a sub-tribe of the celtic Senones, the Parisii, settled the area near the river Seine from around 250 BC.
Gold coins of the Parisii, 1st century BC, (Cabinet des Médailles, Paris)
Gold coins of the Parisii, 1st century BC, (Cabinet des Médailles, Paris)
The Roman westward campaigns had conquered the Paris basin in 52 BC[12]. A permanent Roman settlement began towards the end of the same century on Paris' Left Bank Sainte Geneviève Hill and Île de la Cité island, in a town first called Lutetia, but later becoming Gallicised Lutèce. The Gallo-Roman town expanded greatly over the following centuries, becoming a prosperous city with palaces, a forum, baths, temples, theatres and an amphitheatre[13].
The collapse of the Roman empire and third-century Germanic invasions sent the city into a period of decline: by 400 AD Lutèce, largely abandoned by its inhabitants, was little more than a garrison town entrenched into its hastily fortified central island[12]. The city would reclaim its original "Paris" appellation towards the end of the Roman occupation.
[edit] Middle ages
Paris in the 15th century (Castle of the Louvre).
Paris in the 15th century (Castle of the Louvre).
Around AD 500, Paris was the capital of the Frankish king Clovis I, who commissioned the first cathedral and its first abbey dedicated to his contemporary, later patron saint of the city, Saint Geneviève. On the death of Clovis, the Frankish kingdom was divided, and Paris became the capital of a much smaller sovereign state. By the time of the Carolingian dynasty (9th century), Paris was little more than a feudal county stronghold. The Counts of Paris gradually rose to prominence and eventually wielded greater power than the Kings of Francia occidentalis. Odo, Count of Paris was elected king in place of the incumbent Charles the Fat, namely for the fame he gained in his defence of Paris during the Viking siege (Siege of Paris (885-886)). Although the Cité island had survived the Viking attacks, most of the unprotected Left Bank city was destroyed; rather than rebuild there, after drying marshlands to the north of the island, Paris began to expand onto the Right Bank. In 987 AD, Hugh Capet, Count of Paris, was elected King of France, founding the Capetian dynasty which would raise Paris to become France's capital.
Storming of the Bastille by a Parisian mob on July 14, 1789
Storming of the Bastille by a Parisian mob on July 14, 1789
From 1190, King Philip Augustus enclosed Paris on both banks with a wall that had the Louvre as its western fortress and in 1200 chartered the University of Paris which brought visitors from across Europe. It was during this period that the city developed a spatial distribution of activities that can still be seen: the central island housed government and ecclesiastical institutions, the left bank became a scholastic centre with the University and colleges, while the right bank developed as the centre of commerce and trade around the central Les Halles marketplace.
Paris lost its position as seat of the French realm while occupied by the English-ally Burgundians during the Hundred Years' War, but regained its title when Charles VII reclaimed the city in 1437; although Paris was capital once again, the Crown preferred to remain in its Loire Valley castles. During the French Wars of Religion, Paris was a stronghold of the Catholic party, culminating in the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre (1572). King Henry IV re-established the royal court in Paris in 1594 after he captured the city from the Catholic party. During the Fronde, Parisians rose in rebellion and the royal family fled the city (1648). King Louis XIV then moved the royal court permanently to Versailles in 1682. A century later, Paris was the centre stage for the French Revolution, with the Storming of the Bastille in 1789 and the overthrow of the monarchy in 1792.
[edit] Nineteenth century
The Trocadéro Palace built for the Exposition Universelle of 1878, demolished and replaced by the Palais de Chaillot for the Exposition Internationale of 1937
The Trocadéro Palace built for the Exposition Universelle of 1878, demolished and replaced by the Palais de Chaillot for the Exposition Internationale of 1937
The Industrial Revolution, the French Second Empire, and the Belle Époque brought Paris the greatest development in its history. From the 1840s, rail transport allowed an unprecedented flow of migrants into Paris attracted by employment in the new industries in the suburbs. The city underwent a massive renovation under Napoleon III and his préfet Haussmann, who leveled entire districts of narrow-winding medieval streets to create the network of wide avenues and neo-classical façades of modern Paris.
Cholera epidemics in 1832 and 1849 affected the population of Paris — the 1832 epidemic alone claimed 20,000 of the then population of 650,000.[14] Paris also suffered greatly from the siege ending the Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871), and the ensuing civil war Commune of Paris (1871) killed thousands and sent many of Paris's administrative centres (and city archives) up in flames.
Paris recovered rapidly from these events to host the famous Universal Expositions of the late nineteenth century. The Eiffel Tower was built for the French Revolution centennial 1889 Universal Exposition, as a "temporary" display of architectural engineering prowess but remained the world's tallest building until 1930, and is the city's best-known landmark. The first line of the Paris Métro opened for the 1900 Universal Exposition and was an attraction in itself for visitors from the world over. Paris's World's Fair years also consolidated its position in the tourist industry and as an attractive setting for international technology and trade shows.
[edit] Twentieth century
Nighttime view of Rue de Rivoli
Nighttime view of Rue de Rivoli
During World War I, Paris was at the forefront of the war effort, having been spared a German invasion by the French and British victory at the First Battle of the Marne in 1914. In 1918-1919, it was the scene of Allied victory parades and peace negotiations. In the inter-war period Paris was famed for its cultural and artistic communities and its nightlife. The city became a melting pot of artists from around the world, from exiled Russian composer Stravinsky and Spanish painters Picasso and Dalí to American writer Hemingway. In June 1940, five weeks after the start of the German attack on France, a partially evacuated Paris fell to German occupation forces who remained until the city was liberated by the 2nd Armored Division of General Leclerc in late August 1944. Central Paris endured WW II practically unscathed, as there were no strategic targets for bombers (train stations in central Paris are terminal stations; major factories were located in the suburbs), and also because German General von Choltitz refused to carry out Hitler's order that all Parisian monuments be destroyed before any German retreat.
View over Paris from the Eiffel Tower
View over Paris from the Eiffel Tower
In the post-war era, Paris experienced its largest development since the end of the Belle Époque in 1914. The suburbs began to expand considerably, with the construction of large social estates known as cités and the beginning of the business district La Défense. A comprehensive express subway network, the RER, was built to complement the Métro and serve the distant suburbs, while a network of freeways was developed in the suburbs, centered on the Périphérique expressway circling around the city.
Since the 1970s, many inner suburbs of Paris (especially the eastern ones) have experienced deindustrialization, and the once-thriving cités have gradually become ghettos for immigrants and oases of unemployment. At the same time, the City of Paris (within its Périphérique ring) and the western and southern suburbs have successfully shifted their economic base from traditional manufacturing to high value-added services and high-tech manufacturing, generating great wealth for their residents whose per capita income is among the highest in Europe. The resulting widening social gap between these two areas has led to periodic unrest since the mid-1980s, such as the 2005 riots which largely concentrated in the northeastern suburbs.
[edit] Geography
[edit] Topography
Main article: Topography of Paris
View from the top of the Eiffel tower toward North
View from the top of the Eiffel tower toward North
Paris is located on a north-bending arc of the river Seine and includes two inhabited islands, the Île Saint-Louis and the larger Île de la Cité which is the heart and origin of the city. Paris has several prominent hills, of which the highest is Montmartre at 130 metres (426½ ft) above sea level.
Paris, excluding the outlying parks of Bois de Boulogne and Bois de Vincennes, covers an oval measuring 86.928 square kilometres (33.56 mi²) in area. The city's last major annexation of outlying territories in 1860 not only gave it its modern form, but created the twenty clockwise-spiralling arrondissements. From its 1860 78 km² (30.1 mi²), these limits changed marginally to 86.9 km² in the 1920's, and in 1929 the Bois de Boulogne and Bois de Vincennes forest parks were officially annexed to the city, bringing its area to its present 105.397 square kilometres (40.69 mi²).
The Paris agglomeration (urban area) extends from the city limits to an area much greater than Paris itself (app. 26 times larger) in an irregular oval with tentacles of urban growth extending along the Seine and Marne rivers from the city's south-east and east, and along the Seine and Oise rivers to the city's north-west and north. Urban density drops sharply in the surrounding land; a mix of forest and agriculture dotted with a network of relatively evenly dispersed satellite towns, this commuter belt, when combined with the Paris agglomeration, completes a Paris aire urbaine (metropolitan area) that covers an oval 14,518 km² (5,605.5 mi²)[citation needed] in area, or an area about 138 times that of Paris itself.
[edit] Climate
Paris has an oceanic climate and is affected by the North Atlantic Drift, so the city enjoys a temperate climate that rarely sees extremely high or low temperatures. The average yearly high temperature is about 15 °C (59 °F), and yearly lows tend to remain around an average of 7 °C (45 °F). The highest temperature ever, recorded on 28 July 1948, was 40.4 °C (104.7 °F), and the lowest was a −23.9 °C (−11.0 °F) temperature reached on 10 December 1879.[15] The Paris region has recently seen temperatures reaching both extremes, with the heat wave of 2003 and the cold wave of 2006.
Rainfall can occur at any time of the year, and Paris is known for its sudden showers. The city sees an average yearly precipitation of 641.6 mm (25.2 inches).[15] Snowfall is a rare occurrence, usually appearing in the coldest months of January or February (but has been recorded as late as April), and almost never accumulates enough to make a covering that will last more than a day.
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Avg high °C (°F) 6 (43) 7 (45) 10 (51) 14 (57) 18 (64) 21 (70) 24 (75) 24 (75) 20 (69) 15 (59) 9 (49) 7 (45) 15 (59)
Avg low temperature °C (°F) 1.5 (34) 1.5 (34) 3 (38) 5 (42) 9 (49) 12 (54) 14 (58) 14 (57) 11 (52) 8 (46) 4 (39) 2 (36) 7 (45)
Source: Weatherbase
[edit] Cityscape
[edit] Urbanism and architecture
Avenue de l'Opéra and its buildings typical of Haussmann's renovation of Paris
Avenue de l'Opéra and its buildings typical of Haussmann's renovation of Paris
"Modern" Paris is the result of a vast mid-19th-century urban remodelling. For centuries it had been a labyrinth of narrow streets and half-timber houses, but beginning in 1852, the Baron Haussmann's vast urbanisation levelled entire quarters to make way for wide avenues lined with neo-classical stone buildings of bourgeoise standing; most of this 'new' Paris is the Paris we see today. These Second Empire plans are in many cases still actual, as the city of Paris imposes the then-defined "alignement" law (imposed position defining a predetermined street width) on many new constructions. A building's height was also defined according to the width of the street it lines, and Paris' building code has seen few changes since the mid-19th century to allow for higher constructions. It is for this reason that Paris is mainly a "flat" city.
The Grande Arche in La Defense
The Grande Arche in La Defense
Paris' unchanging borders, strict building codes and lack of developable land have together contributed in creating a phenomenon called muséification (or "museumification") as, at the same time as they strive to preserve Paris' historical past, existing laws make it difficult to create within city limits the larger buildings and utilities needed for a growing population. Many of Paris' institutions and economic infrastructure are already located in, or are planning on moving to, the suburbs. The financial (La Défense) business district, the main food wholesale market (Rungis), major renowned schools (École Polytechnique, HEC, ESSEC, INSEAD, etc.), world famous research laboratories (in Saclay or Évry), the largest sport stadium (Stade de France), and some ministries (namely the Ministry of Transportation) are located outside of the city of Paris. The National Archives of France are due to relocate to the northern suburbs before 2010.
Paris has over 2,400 km of underground passageways [16] dedicated to the evacuation of Paris' liquid wastes. Most of these date from the late 19th century, a result of the combined plans of the Préfet Haussmann and the civil engineer Eugène Belgrand to improve the then very unsanitary conditions in the Capital. Maintained by a round-the-clock service since their construction, only a small percentage of Paris' sewer réseau has needed complete renovation. The entire Paris network of sewers and collectors has been managed since the late 20th century by a computerised network system, known under the acronym "G.A.AS.PAR", that controls all of Paris' water distribution.
[edit] Districts and historical centres
View from the Montparnasse Tower (Tour Montparnasse) towards the Eiffel Tower. On the right Napoleon's tomb lies under the golden dome at Les Invalides. The towers of the office and entertainment centre La Défense are on the horizon.
View from the Montparnasse Tower (Tour Montparnasse) towards the Eiffel Tower. On the right Napoleon's tomb lies under the golden dome at Les Invalides. The towers of the office and entertainment centre La Défense are on the horizon.
The Eiffel Tower and the River Seine.
The Eiffel Tower and the River Seine.
The busy Rue de Buci in Saint-Germain-des-Prés.
The busy Rue de Buci in Saint-Germain-des-Prés.
Main article: Paris districts
These are a few of Paris' major districts.
* Champs-Élysées (8th arrondissement, right bank) is a seventeenth century garden-promenade turned avenue connecting the Concorde and Arc de Triomphe. It is one of the many tourist attractions and a major shopping street of Paris. This avenue has been called "la plus belle avenue du monde" ("the most beautiful avenue in the world").
* Avenue Montaigne (8th arrondissement), next to the Champs-Élysées, is home to luxury brand labels such as Chanel, Louis Vuitton (LVMH), Dior and Givenchy.
* Place de la Concorde (8th arrondissement, right bank) is at the foot of the Champs-Élysées, built as the "Place Louis XV", site of the infamous guillotine. The Egyptian obelisk is Paris's "oldest monument". On this place, on the two side of the Rue Royale live two identical stone buildings: the eastern houses the French Naval Ministry, the western the luxurious Hôtel de Crillon. Nearby Place Vendome is famous for its fashionable and deluxe hotels (Hotel Ritz and Hôtel de Vendôme) and its jewellers. Many famous fashion designers have had their salons in the square.
* Faubourg Saint-Honoré (8th arrondissement, right bank) is one of Paris' high-fashion districts, home to labels such as Hermès and Christian Lacroix.
* L'Opéra (9th arrondissement, right bank) is the area around the Opéra Garnier is a home to the capital's densest concentration of both department stores and offices. A few examples are the Printemps and Galeries Lafayette grands magasins (department stores), and the Paris headquarters of financial giants such as Crédit Lyonnais and American Express.
* Montmartre (18th arrondissement, right bank) is a historic area on the Butte, home to the Basilica of the Sacré Coeur. Montmartre has always had a history with artists and has many studios and cafés of many great artists in that area.
* Les Halles (1st arrondissement, right bank) was formerly Paris' central meat and produce market, since the late 1970s a major shopping center around an important metro connection station (the biggest in Europe). The past Les Halles was destroyed in 1971 and replaced by the Forum des Halles. The central market of Paris, the biggest wholesale food market in the world, was transferred to Rungis, in the southern suburbs.
* Le Marais (3rd and 4th arrondissements) is a trendy Right Bank district. With large gay and Jewish populations it is a very culturally open place.
* Place de la Bastille (4th, 11th and 12th arrondissements, right bank) being one of the most historic districts, being a location of an essential event of not only Paris, but the whole country of France. Because of its historical value the square is often used for political demonstrations, including the massive anti-CPE demonstration of March 28, 2006.
* Quartier Latin (5th and 6th arrondissements, left bank) is a twelfth century scholastic centre formerly stretching between the Left Bank's Place Maubert and the Sorbonne campus. It is known for its lively atmosphere and many bistros. With various higher education establishments, such as the École Normale Supérieure, the École des Mines and the Jussieu university campus make it a major educational center in Paris, which also contributes to its atmosphere.
* Montparnasse (14th arrondissement) is a historic Left Bank area famous for artists studios, music halls, and café life. The large Montparnasse - Bienvenüe métro station and the lone Tour Montparnasse skyscraper are located there.
* La Défense (straddling the communes of Courbevoie, Puteaux, and Nanterre, 2.5 km/1.5 miles west of the City of Paris) is a key suburb of Paris and is one of the largest business centres in the world. Built at the western end of a westward extension of Paris' historical axis from the Champs-Élysées, La Défense consists mainly of business highrises. Initiated by the French government in 1958, the district hosts 3.5 million m² of offices, making of it the largest district in Europe specifically developed for business. The Grande Arche (Great Arch) of la Defense, which houses a part of the French Transports Minister's headquarters, ends the central Esplanade around which the district is organized.
[edit] Parks and gardens
Jardins du Palais Royal
Jardins du Palais Royal
Main article: List of parks and gardens in Paris
Two of Paris's oldest and famous gardens are the Tuileries Garden, created from the 16th century for a palace on the banks of the Seine near the Louvre, and the Left bank Luxembourg Garden, another formerly private garden belonging to a château built for the Marie de' Medici in 1612. The Jardin des Plantes, created by Louis XIII's doctor Guy de La Brosse for the cultivation of medicinal plants, was Paris' first public garden.
A few of Paris' other large gardens are Second Empire creations: the formerly suburban parks of Montsouris, Buttes Chaumont and Parc Monceau (formerly known as the "folie de Chartres"), were creations of Napoleon III's engineer Jean-Charles Alphand and the landscape . You will often see Pariseans having picnics at the parks, soaking up the warm sunshine, or simply enjoying the nature. They are peaceful escapes from the city and are enjoyed by all ages. Another project executed under the orders of Baron Haussmann
Parc Monceau
Parc Monceau
architect Barillet-Deschamps was the re-sculpting of Paris' western Bois de Boulogne forest-parklands; the Bois de Vincennes, to Paris' opposite eastern end, received a similar treatment in years following.
Newer additions to Paris' park landscape are the Parc de la Villette, built by the architect Bernard Tschumi on the location of Paris' former slaughterhouses, and gardens being lain to Paris' periphery along the traces of its former circular "Petite Ceinture" railway line.
[edit] Cemeteries
Cemetery of Père Lachaise
Cemetery of Père Lachaise
Paris' cemeteries were on its outskirts upon their 1804 creation. Many of Paris' churches had their own cemeteries, but, by the late 18th century, they were making living conditions unpleasant for nearby housing. Abolished from 1786, all parish cemeteries contents were taken to abandoned limestone mines outside the southern gates of then Paris, today the 14e arrondissement's place Denfert-Rochereau. The latter are known today as the Paris Catacombes.
Although Paris today has once again grown to surround all its former cemeteries, these have become much-appreciated oases of quiet in a thriving city. Many of Paris's historical figures have found rest in Père Lachaise Cemetery. Other notable cemeteries include Cimetière de Montmartre, Cimetière du Montparnasse, Cimetière de Passy and the Catacombs of Paris.
New suburban cemeteries were created in the early 20th century: the largest of these are the Cimetière Parisien de Saint-Ouen, the Cimetière Parisien de Bobigny-Pantin, the Cimetière Parisien d'Ivry and the Cimetière Parisien de Bagneux.
[edit] Culture
[edit] Monuments and landmarks
Height comparison of some Paris landmarks
Height comparison of some Paris landmarks
The Arc de Triomphe by day
The Arc de Triomphe by day
Main article: Paris landmarks
Three of the most famous Parisian landmarks are the twelfth century cathedral Notre Dame de Paris on the Île de la Cité, the nineteenth century Eiffel Tower, and the Napoleonic Arc de Triomphe. The Eiffel Tower was a "temporary" construction by Gustave Eiffel for the 1889 Universal Exposition but the tower was never dismantled and is now an enduring symbol of Paris. It is visible from many parts of the city as are the Tour Montparnasse skyscraper and the Basilica of the Sacré Cœur on the Montmartre hill.
The Historical axis is a line of monuments, buildings and thoroughfares that run in a roughly straight line from the city centre westwards: the line of monuments begins with the Louvre and continues through the Tuileries Gardens, the Champs-Elysées and the Arc de Triomphe centred in the Place de l'Étoile circus. From the 1960s the line was prolonged even further west to the La Défense business district dominated by square-shaped triumphal Grande Arche of its own; this district hosts most of the tallest skyscrapers in the Paris urban area.
Basilica of the Sacré Cœur
Basilica of the Sacré Cœur
The Invalides museum is the burial place for many great French soldiers, including Napoleon, and the Panthéon church is where many of France's illustrious men and women are buried. The former Conciergerie prison held some prominent ancien régime members before their deaths during the French Revolution. Another symbol of the Revolution are the two Statues of Liberty located on the Île des Cygnes on the Seine and in the Luxembourg Garden. A larger version of the statues was sent as a gift from France to the United States in 1886 and now stands in New York City harbour.
The Palais Garnier built in the later Second Empire period, houses the Paris Opera and the Paris Opera Ballet, while the former palace of the Louvre now houses one of the most famous museums in the world. The Sorbonne is the most famous part of the University of Paris and is based in the centre of the Latin Quarter. Apart from Notre Dame de Paris, there are several other ecclesiastical masterpieces including the Gothic thirteenth century Sainte-Chapelle palace chapel and the Église de la Madeleine.
The Mona Lisa, one of the Louvre's most famous treasures.
The Mona Lisa, one of the Louvre's most famous treasures.
[edit] Museums
Main article: List of museums in Paris
The Louvre is one of the largest and most famous museums, housing many works of art, including the Mona Lisa (La Joconde) and the Venus de Milo statue. Works by Pablo Picasso and Rodin are found in Musée Picasso and Musée Rodin respectively, while the artistic community of Montparnasse is chronicled at the Musée du Montparnasse. Starkly apparent with its service-pipe exterior, the Centre Georges Pompidou, also known as Beaubourg, houses the Musée National d'Art Moderne. Lastly, art and artifacts from the Middle Ages and Impressionist eras are kept in Musée Cluny and Musée d'Orsay respectively, the former with the prized tapestry cycle The Lady and the Unicorn.
[edit] Entertainment
Opera
Paris' largest Opera houses are the 19th-century Opéra Garnier and modern Opera Bastille; the former tends towards the more classic ballets and operas, and the latter provides a mixed repertoire of classic and modern.
Theatre/Concert halls
Theatre traditionally has had a large place in Parisian culture. This still holds true today, although, perhaps strangely, many of its most popular actors today are also stars of French television. A few of Paris' major theatres are Bobino, Théâtre Mogador and the Théâtre de la Gaîté-Montparnasse. Some Parisian theatres also doubled as concert halls.
Many of France's greatest musical legends such as Édith Piaf, Maurice Chevalier, Georges Brassens and Charles Aznavour found their fame in Paris concert halls: legendary yet still-showing examples of these are Bobino, l'Olympia, la Cigale and le Splendid.
The below-mentioned Élysées-Montmartre, much reduced from its original size, is a concert hall today. The New Morning is one of few Parisian clubs still holding jazz concerts, but the same also specialises in 'Indy' music. More recently, the Zenith hall in Paris' La Villette quarter and a "parc-omnisports" stadium in Bercy serve as large-scale rock concert halls.
Opéra Garnier
Opéra Garnier
Dancehalls/Discotheques
Guinguettes and Bals-concerts were the backbone of Parisian entertainment before the mid-20th century. Early to mid-19th century examples were the Moulin de la Galette guinguette and the Élysées-Montmartre and Chateau-Rouge dancehalls-gardens. Popular orchestral fare gave way to the Parisian accordionists of lore whose music moved the Apollo and le Java faubourg du Temple and Belleville dance-hall crowds. Out of the clubs remaining from this era grew the modern discothèque: Le Palace, although closed today, is Paris' most legendary example. Today, much of the clubbing in Paris happens in clubs like Le Queen, L'Etoile, Le Cab which are highly selective. Electronic music oriented clubs such as Le Rex, the Batofar (a boat converted into a club) or The Pulp are quite popular and the world's best DJs play there.
Cinema
Parisians tend to share the same movie-going trends as many of the world's global cities, that is to say with a dominance of Hollywood-generated film entertainment. French cinema comes a close second, with major directors (réalisateurs) such as Claude Lelouch, Jean-Luc Godard, Claude Chabrol and Luc Besson, and the more slapstick/popular genre with director Claude Zidi as an example. European and Asian films are also widely shown and appreciated. A specialty of Paris is its very large network of small movie theaters: on a given week the movie fan has the choice between around 300 old or new movies from all over the world.
Many of Paris' concert/dance halls were transformed into movie theatres when the media became popular from the 1930s. Later most of the largest cinemas were divided into multiple, smaller rooms: Paris' largest cinema today is by far le Grand Rex theatre with 2800 seats, while other cinemas all have less than 1000 seats. There is now a trend toward modern complexes with more than 10 or 20 screens in the same building.
[edit] Cafés, restaurants and hotels
Front view of Les Deux Magots; one of the most famous Parisian cafés, in Saint-Germain-des-Prés.
Front view of Les Deux Magots; one of the most famous Parisian cafés, in Saint-Germain-des-Prés.
Cafés quickly became an integral part of French culture from their appearance, namely from the opening of the left bank Café Procope in 1689 and the café Régence at the Palais-Royale one year earlier. The cafés in the gardens of the latter locale became a quite popular through the 18th-century, and can be considered Paris' first "terrace cafés"; these would not become widespread until sidewalks and boulevards began to appear from the mid-19th century. Cafés are an almost obligatory stop on the way to or from work for many Parisians, and especially during lunchtime.
Paris' culinary reputation has its base in the many origins of its inhabitants. With the early-19th-century railways and ensuing industrial revolution came a flood of migration that brought with it all the gastronomical diversity of France's many different regions, and maintained through 'local speciality' restaurants catering to the tastes of people from all. "Chez Jenny" is a typical example of a restaurant specialising in the cuisine of the Alsace region, and "Aux Lyonnais" is another with a traditional fare originating from its city name's region. Of course migration from even more distant climes meant an even greater culinary diversity, and today, in addition to a great number of North African and Asian establishments, in Paris one can find top-quality cuisine from virtually the world over.
Hotels were another result of widespread travel and tourism, especially Paris' late-19th century Expositions Universelles (World's Fairs). Of the most luxurious of these, the Hôtel Ritz appeared in the Place Vendôme from 1898, and the Hôtel de Crillon opened its doors to the north of the place de la Concorde from 1909.
[edit] Tourism
View over the downtown of Disneyland Resort Paris in suburban Marne-la-Vallée
View over the downtown of Disneyland Resort Paris in suburban Marne-la-Vallée
The Eiffel Tower, the most famous monument of Paris
The Eiffel Tower, the most famous monument of Paris
Paris had always been a destination for traders, students and those on religious pilgrimages, but its 'tourism' in the proper sense of the term began on a large scale only with the appearance of rail travel, namely from state organisation of France's rail network from 1848. One of Paris' first 'mass' attractions drawing international interest were, from 1855, the above-mentioned Expositions Universelles that would bring Paris many new monuments, namely the Eiffel tower from 1889. These, in addition to the Capital's 2nd Empire embellishments, did much to make the city itself the attraction it is today.
Paris' museums and monuments are by far its highest-esteemed attractions, and tourist interest has been nothing but a benefit to these; tourism has even motivated both city and State to create new ones. The city's most prized museum, the Louvre, sees over 6 million visitors a year. Paris' cathedrals are another main attraction: its Notre-Dame cathedral and Sacré-Coeur basilica receive 12 million and 8 million visitors respectively. The Eiffel tower, by far Paris' most famous monument, averages over 6 million visitors per year. Disneyland Resort Paris is a major tourist attraction not only for visitors to Paris, but to Europe as well, with 12.4 million visitors in 2004.
Many of Paris' once-popular local establishments have metamorphised into a parody of French culture, in a form catering to the tastes and expectations of tourist capital. The Moulin Rouge cabaret-dancehall, for example, is a staged dinner theatre spectacle, a dance display that was once but one aspect of the cabaret's former atmosphere. All of the establishment's former social or cultural elements, such as its ballrooms and gardens, are gone today. Much of Paris' hotel, restaurant and night entertainment trades have become heavily dependent on tourism, with results not always positive for Parisian culture.
[edit] Sports
Inside the Stade de France during a rugby union match.
Inside the Stade de France during a rugby union match.
Paris's main sport clubs are the football club Paris Saint-Germain, the basketball team Paris Basket Racing and the rugby union club Stade Français Paris. The 80,000-seat Stade de France was built for the 1998 FIFA World Cup and is used for football and rugby union, and is used annually for French rugby team's home matches of the Six Nations Championship and sometimes for big matches for the Stade Français rugby team. Racing Métro 92 Paris (who now play in Rugby Pro D2) is another rugby team, which actually contested the first ever final against Stade Français in 1892. Paris also hosted the 1900 and 1924 Olympic Games and was venue for the 1938 and 1998 FIFA World Cups.
Although the starting point and the route of the famous Tour de France varies each year, the final stage always finishes in Paris and since 1975, the race has finished on the Champs-Elysées. Tennis is another popular sport in Paris and throughout France. The French Open, held every year on the red clay of the Roland Garros National Tennis Center near the Bois de Boulogne, is one of the four Grand Slam events of the world professional tennis tour.
The 2006 UEFA Champions League Final between Arsenal and FC Barcelona was played in the Stade de France. Paris will host the 2007 Rugby World Cup final at Stade de France on 20 October 2007.
[edit] Economy
Main article: Economy of Paris
With a 2005 GDP of €478.7 billion[6] (US$595.3 billion)[17], the Paris Region is an engine of the global economy: if it were a country, it would rank as the sixteenth largest economy in the world.[18] The Paris Region is thus France's premier centre of economic activity: while its population accounted for 18.7% of the total population of metropolitan France in 2005,[19] its GDP was about 28.5% that of metropolitan France.[6] Activity in the Paris metropolitan area, though diverse, has not found a specialization such as Los Angeles with entertainment industries or London and New York with financial industries. In recent decades, however, the Paris economy has been shifting towards high value-added service industries (finance, IT services, etc.) and high-tech manufacturing (electronics, optics, aerospace, etc.).
[edit] Organisation
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. At the 1999 census, 47.5% of the 5,089,170 people in employment in the Paris metropolitan area (including commuter belt) worked in the city of Paris and the Hauts-de-Seine département, while only 31.5% worked exclusively in Paris[citation needed].
[edit] Sectors
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 metropolitan 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 defense, 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. Among 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. The tourism industry and tourist related services employ 3.6% of the total workforce of the Paris Region (in 1999), and 6.2% of the total workforce of the city of Paris.[20]
[edit] Demography
Demographics within the Paris Region
(according to the INSEE 2005 estimates)
Ile-de-France départements
Areas Population
2005 est. Area
(km²) Density
(/km²) 1999-2005
pop. growth
City of Paris
(département 75) 2,153,600 105 20,433 +1.33%
Inner ring
(Petite Couronne)
(Depts. 92, 93, 94) 4,254,600 657 6,477 +5.34%
Outer ring
(Grande Couronne)
(Depts. 77, 78, 91, 95) 4,991,100 11,249 426 +4.25%
Ile-de-France
(entire région) 11,399,300 12,011 949 +4.08%
Statistical Growth (INSEE 1999 census)
Areas Population
1999 census Area
(km²) Density
(/km²) 1990-1999
pop. growth
Urban area
(Paris agglomeration) 9,644,507 2,723 3,542 +1.85%
Metro area
(Paris aire urbaine) 11,174,743 14,518 770 +2.90%
Main article: Demographics of Paris
The population of the City of Paris was 2,125,246 at the 1999 census, lower than the historical peak of 2.9 million in 1921[citation needed]. This decline was because of the relocation of people to the suburbs caused by de-industrialisation, high rent, the gentrification of many inner quarters and the transformation of living space into offices, although not on the scale seen in some Western cities. These tendencies are generally seen as negative for the city; the city administration is trying to reverse them with some success, as the population estimate of July 2004 shows a population increase for the first time since 1954 reaching a total of 2,144,700 inhabitants.
[edit] Density
The City of Paris is the second most densely populated area in the Western World after Manhattan island in New York City[citation needed]. Its density, excluding the outlying woodland parks of Boulogne and Vincennes, was 24,448 inh. per km² (63,321 inh. per sq. mile) in 1999 official census[citation needed]. Paris' buildings have maintained in most all its quarters a relatively even distribution of apartment housing, office spaces and commercial activities, although some districts have lost much of their apartment housing to office renovations, partly contributing to the decline in population the city has seen since the 1920's.[citation needed]
Paris' most sparsely populated quarters are its western and central office and administration-charged arrondissements[citation needed]. The city is at its densest in its north and east arrondissements; its 11th arrondissement had a density of 40,672/km² (105,339/sq. mile) in 1999[citation needed], and some of the same arrondissement's eastern quarters showed densities close to 100,000/km² (260,000/sq. mile) the same year.[citation needed]
[edit] The Paris agglomeration
The City of Paris is much smaller than its urban growth. At present, the city's urban area (agglomeration) fills a ring of Paris' three neighbouring départements - also known as petite couronne ("small ring") - and extends into an "outer ring" of four grande couronne départements beyond. These eight départements together complete the Île-de-France région.
The Paris agglomeration or urban area (unité urbaine) covers 2,723 km² (1,051.4 mi²) [21], or about 26 times larger than the city of Paris. Beyond this, the couronne peri-urbaine commuter belt region reaches well beyond the limits of the Île-de-France région, and combined with the Paris agglomeration, completes a metropolitan area (aire urbaine) covering 14,518 km² (5,605.5 mi²) [citation needed], or an area about 138 times that of Paris itself.
View over the center of Paris with chinatown high buildings on the right
View over the center of Paris with chinatown high buildings on the right
The Paris agglomeration has shown a steady rate of growth since the end of the late 16th-century French Wars of Religion, save brief setbacks during the French Revolution and World War II[citation needed]. Suburban development has accelerated in recent years, as with an estimated total of 11.4 million inhabitants for 2005, the Île-de-France région shows a rate of growth double that of the 1990s [22][23].
[edit] Immigration
French censuses, by law, ask no questions regarding ethnicity or religion, but do gather information concerning country of birth. From this it is still possible to determine that the Paris metropolitan area is one of the most multi-cultural in Europe: at the 1999 census, 19.4% of its total population was born outside of metropolitan France[24]. At the same census, 4.2% of the Paris metropolitan area's population were recent immigrants (i.e people who migrated to France between the 1990 and 1999 censuses)[25], in their majority from mainland China and Africa[26].
The first wave of international migration to Paris started as early as in 1820 with the arrivals of German peasants fleeing the agricultural crisis in Germany. Several waves of immigration followed continuously until today : Italians and central European Jews during the 19th century; Russians after the revolution of 1917; colonial citizens during World War I and later; Poles between the two world wars; Spaniards, Portuguese and North Africans from the 1950's to the 1970's; North African Jews after the independence of those countries; Africans and Asians since then[27]. The majority of these today are naturalised French without any distinction, in the name of the French Republic principle of equality among its citizens.
[edit] Administration
[edit] Capital of France
Paris is the capital of France, and as such 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. President of the Republic resides at the Elysée Palace in the VIIIe arrondissement, while the Prime Minister's seat is at the Hôtel Matignon in the VIIe arrondissement. Government ministries are located in various parts of the city - many are located in the VIIe, 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 VIe arrondissement, while the more important lower house, the Assemblée Nationale, meets in the Palais Bourbon in the VIIe. 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 tries most criminal and civil cases, is located in the Palais de Justice on the Ile 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 Ier.
The Constitutional Council, which is an advisory body which is the ultimate authority on the constitutionality of laws and government decrees, also meets in the Palais Royal.
[edit] City government
The arrondissements of Paris
The arrondissements of Paris
Main articles: Paris mayors and Arrondissements of Paris
Paris has been a commune (municipality) since 1834 (and also briefly between 1790 and 1795). At the 1790 division of France into communes in the beginning of the French Revolution, and again in 1834, Paris was a city only half its modern size, but in 1860 it annexed bordering communes, some entirely, to create the new administrative map of twenty municipal arrondissements the city still has today. These municipal subdivisions describe a clockwise spiral outward from its most central Ier arrondissement.
Paris as a commune from 1790 became the préfecture (capital) of the Seine département that encompassed Paris and a number of neighbouring communes, but this département was split in 1968 into four smaller ones: the city of Paris became a département distinct from suburban communes in retaining the Seine département 's "75" number (originating from the Seine département's position in France's alphabetical list of départements), while the three new Hauts-de-Seine, Seine-Saint-Denis and Val-de-Marne départements were attributed the numbers 92, 93 and 94 respectively. The result of this division is that today Paris's limits as a département are exactly those of its limits as a commune, a situation unique in France.
[edit] Municipal offices
Each of Paris's 20 arrondissements has a directly-elected council (conseil d'arrondissement), which in turn elects an arrondissement mayor. A selection of members from each arrondissement council form the Council of Paris (conseil de Paris), which in turn elects the mayor of Paris.
The Sun setting over the Seine.
The Sun setting over the Seine.
In medieval times Paris was governed by a merchant-elected municipality whose head was the provost of the merchants: in addition to regulating city commerce, the provost of the merchants was responsible for some civic duties such as the guarding of city walls and the cleanliness of city streets. This role was seconded from the 13th century by the provost of Paris, a direct representative of the king responsible for law and order in the city and its surrounding prévôté (county). Many functions from both offices were transferred to the office of the crown-appointed lieutenant general of police upon its creation in 1667.
Paris' last Prévôt des marchands was assassinated the afternoon of the 14th of July 1789 uprising that was the French Revolution Storming of the Bastille. Paris became an official "commune" from the creation of the administrative division on December 14th the same year, and its provisional "Paris commune" revolutionary municipality was replaced with the city's first municipal constitution and government from October 9, 1790[28]. Through the turmoil of the 1794 Thermidorian Reaction, it became apparent that revolutionary Paris's political independence was a threat to any governing power: the office of mayor was abolished the same year, and its municipal council one year later.
Although the municipal council was recreated in 1834, Paris spent most of the 19th and 20th centuries, along with the larger Seine département of which it was a centre, under the direct control of the State-appointed préfet of the Seine, in charge of general affairs there; the State-appointed Prefect of Police was in charge of police in the same jurisdiction. Paris, save for a few brief occasions, would have no mayor until 1977, and the Paris Prefecture of Police is still under State control today.
Despite its double existence as commune and département, Paris has a unique council to governing both; the Council of Paris, presided by the mayor of Paris, meets either as a municipal council (conseil municipal) or as a departmental council (conseil général) depending on the issue to be debated.
Paris' modern administrative organisation still retains some traces of the former Seine département jurisdiction. The Prefecture of Police (also directing Paris' fire brigades), for example, has still a jurisdiction extending to Paris' petite couronne of bordering three départements for some operations such as fire protection or rescue operations, and is still directed by France's national government. Paris has no municipal police force, although it does have its own brigade of traffic wardens.
The eight départements of the Île-de-France région
The eight départements of the Île-de-France région
[edit] Capital of the Île-de-France région
As part of a 1961 nation-wide administrative effort to consolidate regional economies, Paris as a département became the capital of the new District of the Paris Region, transformed into the Île-de-France région in 1976, encompassing the Paris département and its seven closest départements. The regional council members are chosen by direct elections (since 1986). The prefect of the Paris département (known as the prefect of the Seine département before 1968) is also prefect of the Île-de-France région, although the office lost a lot of its powers with the creation of the office of mayor of Paris in 1977.
[edit] Intercommunality
Few of the above changes have taken into account Paris's existence as an agglomeration. Unlike in most of France's major urban areas such as Lille and Lyon, there is no intercommunal entity in the Paris urban area, no intercommunal council treating the problems of the region's dense urban core as a whole; Paris's alienation of its suburbs is indeed a problem today, and considered by many to be the main causes of civil unrest such as suburban riots in 2005. A direct result of these unfortunate events were propositions for a more efficient metropolitan structure to cover the city of Paris and some of the suburbs, ranging from a socialist idea of a loose "metropolitan conference" (conférence métropolitaine) to the right-wing idea of a more integrated Grand Paris ("Greater Paris").
[edit] Education
In the early 9th century, the Emperor Charlemagne mandated all churches to give lessons in reading, writing and basic arithmetic to their parishes, and cathedrals to give a higher education in the finer arts of language, physics, music and theology. Paris, with its many churches and cathedral, began its rise as a scholastic centre around then.
Twelve centuries later, education in Paris and the Paris region (Île-de-France région) employs approximately 330,000 persons, 170,000 of whom are teachers and professors teaching approximately 2.9 million children and students in around 9,000 primary, secondary, and higher education schools and institutions[29].
[edit] Primary and secondary education
Please help improve this article by expanding this section.
Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion. Please remove this message once the section has been expanded.
This article has been tagged since January 2007.
Paris is home to several of France's most prestigious high-schools such as Lycée Louis-le-Grand and Lycée Henri IV.
Other high-schools of international renown in the Paris area include the Lycée International de Saint Germain-en-Laye and the Ecole Active Bilingue
[edit] Higher education
In the academic year 2004-2005, there were 359,749 students registered in the 17 public universities located throughout the Paris region.[30] This is the largest concentration of university students in Europe, ahead of the agglomerations of London (300,000 university students), Milan (280,000 university students), Madrid (250,000 university students), and Rome (230,000 university students).[31] Beside these 17 public universities, 240,778 more students are registered in the prestigious grandes écoles, as well as in the preparatory classes to the grandes écoles, and in scores of private and public schools independent from universities, thus giving a grand total of 600,527 students in higher education in the academic year 2004-2005.[30]
[edit] Universities
Historical article: University of Paris
Paris Notre-Dame Cathedral was the first center of higher education before the creation of the University of Paris. The universitas, a corporation status granting teachers (and their students) the right to rule themselves independently from crown law and taxes, was chartered by King Philip Augustus in 1200. Many classes then were held in open air. Non-Parisian students and teachers would stay in hostels, or "colleges", created for the boursiers coming from afar. Already famous by the 13th century, the Universty of Paris had students from all of Europe. Paris's Rive Gauche scholastic centre, or "Latin Quarter" as classes were taught in Latin then, would eventually regroup around the college created by Robert de Sorbon from 1257. The University of Paris in the 19th century had six faculties: law, science, medicine, pharmaceutical studies, literature and theology.
The 1968 student riots in Paris, in an effort to disperse the centralised student body, resulted in a near total reform of the University of Paris. The following year, the formerly unique University of Paris was split between thirteen autonomous universities ("Paris I" to "Paris XIII") located throughout the City of Paris and its suburbs. Each of these universities inherited only some of the departments of the old University of Paris, and are not generalist universities. Paris I, II, V and X, inherited the Law School; Paris V inherited the School of Medicine as well; Paris VI and VII inherited the scientific departments; etc.
In 1991, four more universities were created in the suburbs of Paris, reaching a total of seventeen public universities for the Paris (Île-de-France) région. These new universities were given names (based on the name of the suburb in which they are located) and not numbers like the previous thirteen: University of Cergy-Pontoise, University of Évry-Val d'Essonne, University of Marne-la-Vallée and University of Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines.
In Paris there is also the English-speaking Westminster Centre for International Studies, department of London's University of Westminster, as well as the The American University of Paris, a private higher education institution; and also The American Business School of Paris.
[edit] Grandes écoles
The Paris region hosts France's highest concentration of grandes écoles, or prestigious centres of higher specialised education outside the public university structure. Note that the prestigious public universities are usually considered grands établissements. Most of the grandes écoles were relocated to the suburbs of Paris in the 1960s and 1970s, in new campuses much larger than the old campuses within the crowded City of Paris, though the École Normale Supérieure has remained on rue d'Ulm in the Ve arrondissement. The Paris area has a high number of engineering schools, led by the prestigious École Polytechnique, École des Mines, École des Ponts et Chaussées, and École Centrale, forming future actors of France's engineering and industry. Business schools are also many, including world-famous HEC, ESSEC, INSEAD, and ESCP-EAP European School of Management. Although Paris' former elite administrative school ENA was relocated to Strasbourg, the famous political science school Sciences-Po is still located in Paris' Left bank VIIe arrondissement.
See also: Grandes écoles
[edit] Infrastructure
Thalys trains with service to Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany
Thalys trains with service to Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany
Inauguration of the T3 tramway line on the 16th of December, 2006
Inauguration of the T3 tramway line on the 16th of December, 2006
Métro station
Métro station
[edit] Transport
Main articles: Transport in Paris and Transport in France
See also: List of railway stations in Paris
Paris's role as a centre of international trade and tourism has brought its transportation system many embellishments over the past centuries, and its development is still progressing at a rapid pace today. Only in the past few decades Paris has become the center of an autoroute system, high-speed train network and, through its two major airports, a hub of international air travel.
The public transit networks of the Paris region are coordinated by the Syndicat des transports d'Île-de-France [32] (STIF), formerly Syndicat des transports parisiens (STP). Members of the syndicate include the RATP, which operates the Parisian and some suburban buses, the Métro, and sections of the RER; the SNCF, which operates the suburban rail lines and the other sections of the RER ; and other private operators managing some suburban bus lines.
The Métro is one of Paris' most important methods of transportation. The system comprises 16 lines, identified by numbers from 1 to 14, with two minor lines, 3bis and 7bis, numbered thus because they used to be branches of their respective original lines and only later became independent. In October 1998, the new line 14 was inaugurated after a 70-year hiatus in inaugurating fully new métro lines.
There are two tangential tramway lines in the suburbs: Line T1 runs from Saint-Denis to Noisy-le-Sec, line T2 runs from La Défense to Issy. A third line, in the city proper, T-3, between Pont du Garigliano and Porte d'Ivry, along the southern inner orbital road opened for use on December 15, 2006.
Paris is served by two principal airports: Orly Airport, which is south of Paris, and the Charles de Gaulle International Airport in nearby Roissy-en-France, one of the busiest in Europe. A third and much smaller airport, at the town of Beauvais, 70 km (45 mi) to the north of the city, is used by charter and low-cost airlines. Le Bourget airport nowadays only hosts business jets, air trade shows and the aerospace museum.
Paris is a central hub of the national rail network of high-speed (TGV) and normal (Corail) trains. Six major railway stations, Gare du Nord, Gare Montparnasse, Gare de l'Est, Gare de Lyon, Gare d'Austerlitz, and Gare Saint-Lazare connect this train network to the world famous and highly efficient Métro network, with 380 stations connected by 221.6km of rails. Because of the short distance between stations on the Métro network, lines were too slow to be extended further in the suburbs as is the case in most other cities. As such, an additional express network, known as the RER, has been created since the 1960s to connect more distant parts of the conurbation.
The city is also the hub of France's motorway network, and is surrounded by three orbital freeways : the Périphérique which follows the approximate path of 19th-century fortifications around Paris, the A86 autoroute motorway in the inner suburbs, and finally the Francilienne motorway, also known as the A104(north) and N104(south) (and N184), in the outer suburbs. Paris has an extensive road network with over 2000 kilometres of major roads and highways. By road Brussels can be reached in three hours, Frankfurt in 6 hours and Barcelona in 12 hours.
[edit] Water and sanitation
Canal Saint-Martin
Canal Saint-Martin
Paris in its early history had only the Seine and Bièvre rivers for water. Later forms of irrigation were: a first-century Roman aqueduct from southerly Wissous (later left to ruin); sources from the Right bank hills from the late 11th century; from the 15th-century an aqueduct built roughly along the path of the first; finally, from 1809, the canal de l'Ourcq began providing Paris with water from less polluted rivers away from the Capital. Paris would only have its first constant and plentiful source of drinkable water from the late 19th-century: from 1857, under Napoleon III's Préfet Haussmann, the civil engineer Eugène Belgrand oversaw the construction of a series of new aqueducts that would bring sources from distant locations to reservoirs built in the highest points of the Capital. The new sources became Paris' principal source of drinking water, and the remains of the old system, pumped into lower levels of the same reservoirs, were from then dedicated to the cleaning of Paris' streets. This system is still a major part of Paris' modern water supply network.
Paris has over 2,400 km of underground passageways [16] dedicated to the evacuation of Paris' liquid wastes. Most of these even today date from the late 19th century, a result of the combined plans of the Préfet Baron Haussmann and the civil engineer Eugène Belgrand to improve the then very unsanitary conditions in the Capital. Maintained by a round-the-clock service since their construction, only a small percentage of Paris' sewer réseau has needed complete renovation. The entire Paris network of sewers and collectors has been managed since the late 20th century by a computerised network system, known under the acronym "G.A.AS.PAR", that controls all of Paris' water distribution, even the flow of the river Seine through the capital.
The Paris region (Île-de-France) is France's foremost centre of economic activity. With €478.7 billion (US$595.3 billion), it produced more than a quarter of the gross domestic product (GDP) of France in 2005.[6]With La Defense, the largest purpose built business district in Europe, it hosts the head offices of almost half of the major French companies, as well as the headquarters of ten of the world's 100 largest companies[7]. Paris also hosts many international organizations such as UNESCO, the OECD, the ICC, or the informal Paris Club. It is regarded as one of the 4 major global cities[8].
Paris' strategic location at a crossroads between land and river trade routes in lands of abundant agriculture had made it one of France's principal cities by the 10th century, rich with Royal palaces and demurs, wealthy Abbeys and a cathedral; by the 12th century Paris had become one of Europe's foremost centres of learning and the arts. Today, Paris is an influential centre in politics, fashion, business, arts and science. The city serves as an important hub of intercontinental transportation and is home to some of the most prominent universities, sport events, opera companies and museums[9][10], making it an attraction for over 30 million foreign visitors per year[11].
Contents
[hide]
* 1 History
o 1.1 Origin of the name
o 1.2 Early beginnings
o 1.3 Middle ages
o 1.4 Nineteenth century
o 1.5 Twentieth century
* 2 Geography
o 2.1 Topography
o 2.2 Climate
* 3 Cityscape
o 3.1 Urbanism and architecture
o 3.2 Districts and historical centres
o 3.3 Parks and gardens
o 3.4 Cemeteries
* 4 Culture
o 4.1 Monuments and landmarks
o 4.2 Museums
o 4.3 Entertainment
o 4.4 Cafés, restaurants and hotels
o 4.5 Tourism
o 4.6 Sports
* 5 Economy
o 5.1 Organisation
o 5.2 Sectors
* 6 Demography
o 6.1 Density
o 6.2 The Paris agglomeration
o 6.3 Immigration
* 7 Administration
o 7.1 Capital of France
o 7.2 City government
o 7.3 Municipal offices
o 7.4 Capital of the Île-de-France région
o 7.5 Intercommunality
* 8 Education
o 8.1 Primary and secondary education
o 8.2 Higher education
o 8.3 Universities
o 8.4 Grandes écoles
* 9 Infrastructure
o 9.1 Transport
o 9.2 Water and sanitation
* 10 International Relations
* 11 References
* 12 Bibliography
* 13 See also
* 14 External links
[edit] History
Main articles: History of Paris and Name of Paris and its inhabitants
[edit] Origin of the name
Paris is pronounced "[ˈpʰæɹɪs]" in English and "[paʀi] (help·info)" in French. The city derives its name from that of its pre-Roman-era inhabitants, the Gallic Parisii tribe. The city became known as Lutetia (/lutetja/) during the first to fifth century Roman occupation, but began to adopt its present-day name towards the end of this period.
Paris has many nicknames, but its most famous is 'The City of Light' (La Ville-lumière), a name it owes both to its fame as a centre of education and ideas and its early adoption of street-lighting. Paris since the early 20th century has also been known in parisian slang as Paname ([panam]; Moi j'suis d'Paname (help·info), i.e. "I'm from Paname"), a slang name that has been regaining favor with young people in recent years.
Paris' inhabitants are known in English as "Parisians" ([pʰəˈɹɪzɪənz] or [pʰəˈɹiːʒn̩z]) and as Parisiens ([paʀizjɛ̃] (help·info)) in French. Parisians are often pejoratively called Parigots ([paʀigo] (help·info))by those living outside the Paris Region, but this is a term sometimes considered endearing by Parisians themselves.
See Wiktionary for the name of Paris in various languages other than English and French.
[edit] Early beginnings
The earliest signs of permanent habitation in the Paris area date from around 4200 BC[12]. Known boatsmen and traders, a sub-tribe of the celtic Senones, the Parisii, settled the area near the river Seine from around 250 BC.
Gold coins of the Parisii, 1st century BC, (Cabinet des Médailles, Paris)
Gold coins of the Parisii, 1st century BC, (Cabinet des Médailles, Paris)
The Roman westward campaigns had conquered the Paris basin in 52 BC[12]. A permanent Roman settlement began towards the end of the same century on Paris' Left Bank Sainte Geneviève Hill and Île de la Cité island, in a town first called Lutetia, but later becoming Gallicised Lutèce. The Gallo-Roman town expanded greatly over the following centuries, becoming a prosperous city with palaces, a forum, baths, temples, theatres and an amphitheatre[13].
The collapse of the Roman empire and third-century Germanic invasions sent the city into a period of decline: by 400 AD Lutèce, largely abandoned by its inhabitants, was little more than a garrison town entrenched into its hastily fortified central island[12]. The city would reclaim its original "Paris" appellation towards the end of the Roman occupation.
[edit] Middle ages
Paris in the 15th century (Castle of the Louvre).
Paris in the 15th century (Castle of the Louvre).
Around AD 500, Paris was the capital of the Frankish king Clovis I, who commissioned the first cathedral and its first abbey dedicated to his contemporary, later patron saint of the city, Saint Geneviève. On the death of Clovis, the Frankish kingdom was divided, and Paris became the capital of a much smaller sovereign state. By the time of the Carolingian dynasty (9th century), Paris was little more than a feudal county stronghold. The Counts of Paris gradually rose to prominence and eventually wielded greater power than the Kings of Francia occidentalis. Odo, Count of Paris was elected king in place of the incumbent Charles the Fat, namely for the fame he gained in his defence of Paris during the Viking siege (Siege of Paris (885-886)). Although the Cité island had survived the Viking attacks, most of the unprotected Left Bank city was destroyed; rather than rebuild there, after drying marshlands to the north of the island, Paris began to expand onto the Right Bank. In 987 AD, Hugh Capet, Count of Paris, was elected King of France, founding the Capetian dynasty which would raise Paris to become France's capital.
Storming of the Bastille by a Parisian mob on July 14, 1789
Storming of the Bastille by a Parisian mob on July 14, 1789
From 1190, King Philip Augustus enclosed Paris on both banks with a wall that had the Louvre as its western fortress and in 1200 chartered the University of Paris which brought visitors from across Europe. It was during this period that the city developed a spatial distribution of activities that can still be seen: the central island housed government and ecclesiastical institutions, the left bank became a scholastic centre with the University and colleges, while the right bank developed as the centre of commerce and trade around the central Les Halles marketplace.
Paris lost its position as seat of the French realm while occupied by the English-ally Burgundians during the Hundred Years' War, but regained its title when Charles VII reclaimed the city in 1437; although Paris was capital once again, the Crown preferred to remain in its Loire Valley castles. During the French Wars of Religion, Paris was a stronghold of the Catholic party, culminating in the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre (1572). King Henry IV re-established the royal court in Paris in 1594 after he captured the city from the Catholic party. During the Fronde, Parisians rose in rebellion and the royal family fled the city (1648). King Louis XIV then moved the royal court permanently to Versailles in 1682. A century later, Paris was the centre stage for the French Revolution, with the Storming of the Bastille in 1789 and the overthrow of the monarchy in 1792.
[edit] Nineteenth century
The Trocadéro Palace built for the Exposition Universelle of 1878, demolished and replaced by the Palais de Chaillot for the Exposition Internationale of 1937
The Trocadéro Palace built for the Exposition Universelle of 1878, demolished and replaced by the Palais de Chaillot for the Exposition Internationale of 1937
The Industrial Revolution, the French Second Empire, and the Belle Époque brought Paris the greatest development in its history. From the 1840s, rail transport allowed an unprecedented flow of migrants into Paris attracted by employment in the new industries in the suburbs. The city underwent a massive renovation under Napoleon III and his préfet Haussmann, who leveled entire districts of narrow-winding medieval streets to create the network of wide avenues and neo-classical façades of modern Paris.
Cholera epidemics in 1832 and 1849 affected the population of Paris — the 1832 epidemic alone claimed 20,000 of the then population of 650,000.[14] Paris also suffered greatly from the siege ending the Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871), and the ensuing civil war Commune of Paris (1871) killed thousands and sent many of Paris's administrative centres (and city archives) up in flames.
Paris recovered rapidly from these events to host the famous Universal Expositions of the late nineteenth century. The Eiffel Tower was built for the French Revolution centennial 1889 Universal Exposition, as a "temporary" display of architectural engineering prowess but remained the world's tallest building until 1930, and is the city's best-known landmark. The first line of the Paris Métro opened for the 1900 Universal Exposition and was an attraction in itself for visitors from the world over. Paris's World's Fair years also consolidated its position in the tourist industry and as an attractive setting for international technology and trade shows.
[edit] Twentieth century
Nighttime view of Rue de Rivoli
Nighttime view of Rue de Rivoli
During World War I, Paris was at the forefront of the war effort, having been spared a German invasion by the French and British victory at the First Battle of the Marne in 1914. In 1918-1919, it was the scene of Allied victory parades and peace negotiations. In the inter-war period Paris was famed for its cultural and artistic communities and its nightlife. The city became a melting pot of artists from around the world, from exiled Russian composer Stravinsky and Spanish painters Picasso and Dalí to American writer Hemingway. In June 1940, five weeks after the start of the German attack on France, a partially evacuated Paris fell to German occupation forces who remained until the city was liberated by the 2nd Armored Division of General Leclerc in late August 1944. Central Paris endured WW II practically unscathed, as there were no strategic targets for bombers (train stations in central Paris are terminal stations; major factories were located in the suburbs), and also because German General von Choltitz refused to carry out Hitler's order that all Parisian monuments be destroyed before any German retreat.
View over Paris from the Eiffel Tower
View over Paris from the Eiffel Tower
In the post-war era, Paris experienced its largest development since the end of the Belle Époque in 1914. The suburbs began to expand considerably, with the construction of large social estates known as cités and the beginning of the business district La Défense. A comprehensive express subway network, the RER, was built to complement the Métro and serve the distant suburbs, while a network of freeways was developed in the suburbs, centered on the Périphérique expressway circling around the city.
Since the 1970s, many inner suburbs of Paris (especially the eastern ones) have experienced deindustrialization, and the once-thriving cités have gradually become ghettos for immigrants and oases of unemployment. At the same time, the City of Paris (within its Périphérique ring) and the western and southern suburbs have successfully shifted their economic base from traditional manufacturing to high value-added services and high-tech manufacturing, generating great wealth for their residents whose per capita income is among the highest in Europe. The resulting widening social gap between these two areas has led to periodic unrest since the mid-1980s, such as the 2005 riots which largely concentrated in the northeastern suburbs.
[edit] Geography
[edit] Topography
Main article: Topography of Paris
View from the top of the Eiffel tower toward North
View from the top of the Eiffel tower toward North
Paris is located on a north-bending arc of the river Seine and includes two inhabited islands, the Île Saint-Louis and the larger Île de la Cité which is the heart and origin of the city. Paris has several prominent hills, of which the highest is Montmartre at 130 metres (426½ ft) above sea level.
Paris, excluding the outlying parks of Bois de Boulogne and Bois de Vincennes, covers an oval measuring 86.928 square kilometres (33.56 mi²) in area. The city's last major annexation of outlying territories in 1860 not only gave it its modern form, but created the twenty clockwise-spiralling arrondissements. From its 1860 78 km² (30.1 mi²), these limits changed marginally to 86.9 km² in the 1920's, and in 1929 the Bois de Boulogne and Bois de Vincennes forest parks were officially annexed to the city, bringing its area to its present 105.397 square kilometres (40.69 mi²).
The Paris agglomeration (urban area) extends from the city limits to an area much greater than Paris itself (app. 26 times larger) in an irregular oval with tentacles of urban growth extending along the Seine and Marne rivers from the city's south-east and east, and along the Seine and Oise rivers to the city's north-west and north. Urban density drops sharply in the surrounding land; a mix of forest and agriculture dotted with a network of relatively evenly dispersed satellite towns, this commuter belt, when combined with the Paris agglomeration, completes a Paris aire urbaine (metropolitan area) that covers an oval 14,518 km² (5,605.5 mi²)[citation needed] in area, or an area about 138 times that of Paris itself.
[edit] Climate
Paris has an oceanic climate and is affected by the North Atlantic Drift, so the city enjoys a temperate climate that rarely sees extremely high or low temperatures. The average yearly high temperature is about 15 °C (59 °F), and yearly lows tend to remain around an average of 7 °C (45 °F). The highest temperature ever, recorded on 28 July 1948, was 40.4 °C (104.7 °F), and the lowest was a −23.9 °C (−11.0 °F) temperature reached on 10 December 1879.[15] The Paris region has recently seen temperatures reaching both extremes, with the heat wave of 2003 and the cold wave of 2006.
Rainfall can occur at any time of the year, and Paris is known for its sudden showers. The city sees an average yearly precipitation of 641.6 mm (25.2 inches).[15] Snowfall is a rare occurrence, usually appearing in the coldest months of January or February (but has been recorded as late as April), and almost never accumulates enough to make a covering that will last more than a day.
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Avg high °C (°F) 6 (43) 7 (45) 10 (51) 14 (57) 18 (64) 21 (70) 24 (75) 24 (75) 20 (69) 15 (59) 9 (49) 7 (45) 15 (59)
Avg low temperature °C (°F) 1.5 (34) 1.5 (34) 3 (38) 5 (42) 9 (49) 12 (54) 14 (58) 14 (57) 11 (52) 8 (46) 4 (39) 2 (36) 7 (45)
Source: Weatherbase
[edit] Cityscape
[edit] Urbanism and architecture
Avenue de l'Opéra and its buildings typical of Haussmann's renovation of Paris
Avenue de l'Opéra and its buildings typical of Haussmann's renovation of Paris
"Modern" Paris is the result of a vast mid-19th-century urban remodelling. For centuries it had been a labyrinth of narrow streets and half-timber houses, but beginning in 1852, the Baron Haussmann's vast urbanisation levelled entire quarters to make way for wide avenues lined with neo-classical stone buildings of bourgeoise standing; most of this 'new' Paris is the Paris we see today. These Second Empire plans are in many cases still actual, as the city of Paris imposes the then-defined "alignement" law (imposed position defining a predetermined street width) on many new constructions. A building's height was also defined according to the width of the street it lines, and Paris' building code has seen few changes since the mid-19th century to allow for higher constructions. It is for this reason that Paris is mainly a "flat" city.
The Grande Arche in La Defense
The Grande Arche in La Defense
Paris' unchanging borders, strict building codes and lack of developable land have together contributed in creating a phenomenon called muséification (or "museumification") as, at the same time as they strive to preserve Paris' historical past, existing laws make it difficult to create within city limits the larger buildings and utilities needed for a growing population. Many of Paris' institutions and economic infrastructure are already located in, or are planning on moving to, the suburbs. The financial (La Défense) business district, the main food wholesale market (Rungis), major renowned schools (École Polytechnique, HEC, ESSEC, INSEAD, etc.), world famous research laboratories (in Saclay or Évry), the largest sport stadium (Stade de France), and some ministries (namely the Ministry of Transportation) are located outside of the city of Paris. The National Archives of France are due to relocate to the northern suburbs before 2010.
Paris has over 2,400 km of underground passageways [16] dedicated to the evacuation of Paris' liquid wastes. Most of these date from the late 19th century, a result of the combined plans of the Préfet Haussmann and the civil engineer Eugène Belgrand to improve the then very unsanitary conditions in the Capital. Maintained by a round-the-clock service since their construction, only a small percentage of Paris' sewer réseau has needed complete renovation. The entire Paris network of sewers and collectors has been managed since the late 20th century by a computerised network system, known under the acronym "G.A.AS.PAR", that controls all of Paris' water distribution.
[edit] Districts and historical centres
View from the Montparnasse Tower (Tour Montparnasse) towards the Eiffel Tower. On the right Napoleon's tomb lies under the golden dome at Les Invalides. The towers of the office and entertainment centre La Défense are on the horizon.
View from the Montparnasse Tower (Tour Montparnasse) towards the Eiffel Tower. On the right Napoleon's tomb lies under the golden dome at Les Invalides. The towers of the office and entertainment centre La Défense are on the horizon.
The Eiffel Tower and the River Seine.
The Eiffel Tower and the River Seine.
The busy Rue de Buci in Saint-Germain-des-Prés.
The busy Rue de Buci in Saint-Germain-des-Prés.
Main article: Paris districts
These are a few of Paris' major districts.
* Champs-Élysées (8th arrondissement, right bank) is a seventeenth century garden-promenade turned avenue connecting the Concorde and Arc de Triomphe. It is one of the many tourist attractions and a major shopping street of Paris. This avenue has been called "la plus belle avenue du monde" ("the most beautiful avenue in the world").
* Avenue Montaigne (8th arrondissement), next to the Champs-Élysées, is home to luxury brand labels such as Chanel, Louis Vuitton (LVMH), Dior and Givenchy.
* Place de la Concorde (8th arrondissement, right bank) is at the foot of the Champs-Élysées, built as the "Place Louis XV", site of the infamous guillotine. The Egyptian obelisk is Paris's "oldest monument". On this place, on the two side of the Rue Royale live two identical stone buildings: the eastern houses the French Naval Ministry, the western the luxurious Hôtel de Crillon. Nearby Place Vendome is famous for its fashionable and deluxe hotels (Hotel Ritz and Hôtel de Vendôme) and its jewellers. Many famous fashion designers have had their salons in the square.
* Faubourg Saint-Honoré (8th arrondissement, right bank) is one of Paris' high-fashion districts, home to labels such as Hermès and Christian Lacroix.
* L'Opéra (9th arrondissement, right bank) is the area around the Opéra Garnier is a home to the capital's densest concentration of both department stores and offices. A few examples are the Printemps and Galeries Lafayette grands magasins (department stores), and the Paris headquarters of financial giants such as Crédit Lyonnais and American Express.
* Montmartre (18th arrondissement, right bank) is a historic area on the Butte, home to the Basilica of the Sacré Coeur. Montmartre has always had a history with artists and has many studios and cafés of many great artists in that area.
* Les Halles (1st arrondissement, right bank) was formerly Paris' central meat and produce market, since the late 1970s a major shopping center around an important metro connection station (the biggest in Europe). The past Les Halles was destroyed in 1971 and replaced by the Forum des Halles. The central market of Paris, the biggest wholesale food market in the world, was transferred to Rungis, in the southern suburbs.
* Le Marais (3rd and 4th arrondissements) is a trendy Right Bank district. With large gay and Jewish populations it is a very culturally open place.
* Place de la Bastille (4th, 11th and 12th arrondissements, right bank) being one of the most historic districts, being a location of an essential event of not only Paris, but the whole country of France. Because of its historical value the square is often used for political demonstrations, including the massive anti-CPE demonstration of March 28, 2006.
* Quartier Latin (5th and 6th arrondissements, left bank) is a twelfth century scholastic centre formerly stretching between the Left Bank's Place Maubert and the Sorbonne campus. It is known for its lively atmosphere and many bistros. With various higher education establishments, such as the École Normale Supérieure, the École des Mines and the Jussieu university campus make it a major educational center in Paris, which also contributes to its atmosphere.
* Montparnasse (14th arrondissement) is a historic Left Bank area famous for artists studios, music halls, and café life. The large Montparnasse - Bienvenüe métro station and the lone Tour Montparnasse skyscraper are located there.
* La Défense (straddling the communes of Courbevoie, Puteaux, and Nanterre, 2.5 km/1.5 miles west of the City of Paris) is a key suburb of Paris and is one of the largest business centres in the world. Built at the western end of a westward extension of Paris' historical axis from the Champs-Élysées, La Défense consists mainly of business highrises. Initiated by the French government in 1958, the district hosts 3.5 million m² of offices, making of it the largest district in Europe specifically developed for business. The Grande Arche (Great Arch) of la Defense, which houses a part of the French Transports Minister's headquarters, ends the central Esplanade around which the district is organized.
[edit] Parks and gardens
Jardins du Palais Royal
Jardins du Palais Royal
Main article: List of parks and gardens in Paris
Two of Paris's oldest and famous gardens are the Tuileries Garden, created from the 16th century for a palace on the banks of the Seine near the Louvre, and the Left bank Luxembourg Garden, another formerly private garden belonging to a château built for the Marie de' Medici in 1612. The Jardin des Plantes, created by Louis XIII's doctor Guy de La Brosse for the cultivation of medicinal plants, was Paris' first public garden.
A few of Paris' other large gardens are Second Empire creations: the formerly suburban parks of Montsouris, Buttes Chaumont and Parc Monceau (formerly known as the "folie de Chartres"), were creations of Napoleon III's engineer Jean-Charles Alphand and the landscape . You will often see Pariseans having picnics at the parks, soaking up the warm sunshine, or simply enjoying the nature. They are peaceful escapes from the city and are enjoyed by all ages. Another project executed under the orders of Baron Haussmann
Parc Monceau
Parc Monceau
architect Barillet-Deschamps was the re-sculpting of Paris' western Bois de Boulogne forest-parklands; the Bois de Vincennes, to Paris' opposite eastern end, received a similar treatment in years following.
Newer additions to Paris' park landscape are the Parc de la Villette, built by the architect Bernard Tschumi on the location of Paris' former slaughterhouses, and gardens being lain to Paris' periphery along the traces of its former circular "Petite Ceinture" railway line.
[edit] Cemeteries
Cemetery of Père Lachaise
Cemetery of Père Lachaise
Paris' cemeteries were on its outskirts upon their 1804 creation. Many of Paris' churches had their own cemeteries, but, by the late 18th century, they were making living conditions unpleasant for nearby housing. Abolished from 1786, all parish cemeteries contents were taken to abandoned limestone mines outside the southern gates of then Paris, today the 14e arrondissement's place Denfert-Rochereau. The latter are known today as the Paris Catacombes.
Although Paris today has once again grown to surround all its former cemeteries, these have become much-appreciated oases of quiet in a thriving city. Many of Paris's historical figures have found rest in Père Lachaise Cemetery. Other notable cemeteries include Cimetière de Montmartre, Cimetière du Montparnasse, Cimetière de Passy and the Catacombs of Paris.
New suburban cemeteries were created in the early 20th century: the largest of these are the Cimetière Parisien de Saint-Ouen, the Cimetière Parisien de Bobigny-Pantin, the Cimetière Parisien d'Ivry and the Cimetière Parisien de Bagneux.
[edit] Culture
[edit] Monuments and landmarks
Height comparison of some Paris landmarks
Height comparison of some Paris landmarks
The Arc de Triomphe by day
The Arc de Triomphe by day
Main article: Paris landmarks
Three of the most famous Parisian landmarks are the twelfth century cathedral Notre Dame de Paris on the Île de la Cité, the nineteenth century Eiffel Tower, and the Napoleonic Arc de Triomphe. The Eiffel Tower was a "temporary" construction by Gustave Eiffel for the 1889 Universal Exposition but the tower was never dismantled and is now an enduring symbol of Paris. It is visible from many parts of the city as are the Tour Montparnasse skyscraper and the Basilica of the Sacré Cœur on the Montmartre hill.
The Historical axis is a line of monuments, buildings and thoroughfares that run in a roughly straight line from the city centre westwards: the line of monuments begins with the Louvre and continues through the Tuileries Gardens, the Champs-Elysées and the Arc de Triomphe centred in the Place de l'Étoile circus. From the 1960s the line was prolonged even further west to the La Défense business district dominated by square-shaped triumphal Grande Arche of its own; this district hosts most of the tallest skyscrapers in the Paris urban area.
Basilica of the Sacré Cœur
Basilica of the Sacré Cœur
The Invalides museum is the burial place for many great French soldiers, including Napoleon, and the Panthéon church is where many of France's illustrious men and women are buried. The former Conciergerie prison held some prominent ancien régime members before their deaths during the French Revolution. Another symbol of the Revolution are the two Statues of Liberty located on the Île des Cygnes on the Seine and in the Luxembourg Garden. A larger version of the statues was sent as a gift from France to the United States in 1886 and now stands in New York City harbour.
The Palais Garnier built in the later Second Empire period, houses the Paris Opera and the Paris Opera Ballet, while the former palace of the Louvre now houses one of the most famous museums in the world. The Sorbonne is the most famous part of the University of Paris and is based in the centre of the Latin Quarter. Apart from Notre Dame de Paris, there are several other ecclesiastical masterpieces including the Gothic thirteenth century Sainte-Chapelle palace chapel and the Église de la Madeleine.
The Mona Lisa, one of the Louvre's most famous treasures.
The Mona Lisa, one of the Louvre's most famous treasures.
[edit] Museums
Main article: List of museums in Paris
The Louvre is one of the largest and most famous museums, housing many works of art, including the Mona Lisa (La Joconde) and the Venus de Milo statue. Works by Pablo Picasso and Rodin are found in Musée Picasso and Musée Rodin respectively, while the artistic community of Montparnasse is chronicled at the Musée du Montparnasse. Starkly apparent with its service-pipe exterior, the Centre Georges Pompidou, also known as Beaubourg, houses the Musée National d'Art Moderne. Lastly, art and artifacts from the Middle Ages and Impressionist eras are kept in Musée Cluny and Musée d'Orsay respectively, the former with the prized tapestry cycle The Lady and the Unicorn.
[edit] Entertainment
Opera
Paris' largest Opera houses are the 19th-century Opéra Garnier and modern Opera Bastille; the former tends towards the more classic ballets and operas, and the latter provides a mixed repertoire of classic and modern.
Theatre/Concert halls
Theatre traditionally has had a large place in Parisian culture. This still holds true today, although, perhaps strangely, many of its most popular actors today are also stars of French television. A few of Paris' major theatres are Bobino, Théâtre Mogador and the Théâtre de la Gaîté-Montparnasse. Some Parisian theatres also doubled as concert halls.
Many of France's greatest musical legends such as Édith Piaf, Maurice Chevalier, Georges Brassens and Charles Aznavour found their fame in Paris concert halls: legendary yet still-showing examples of these are Bobino, l'Olympia, la Cigale and le Splendid.
The below-mentioned Élysées-Montmartre, much reduced from its original size, is a concert hall today. The New Morning is one of few Parisian clubs still holding jazz concerts, but the same also specialises in 'Indy' music. More recently, the Zenith hall in Paris' La Villette quarter and a "parc-omnisports" stadium in Bercy serve as large-scale rock concert halls.
Opéra Garnier
Opéra Garnier
Dancehalls/Discotheques
Guinguettes and Bals-concerts were the backbone of Parisian entertainment before the mid-20th century. Early to mid-19th century examples were the Moulin de la Galette guinguette and the Élysées-Montmartre and Chateau-Rouge dancehalls-gardens. Popular orchestral fare gave way to the Parisian accordionists of lore whose music moved the Apollo and le Java faubourg du Temple and Belleville dance-hall crowds. Out of the clubs remaining from this era grew the modern discothèque: Le Palace, although closed today, is Paris' most legendary example. Today, much of the clubbing in Paris happens in clubs like Le Queen, L'Etoile, Le Cab which are highly selective. Electronic music oriented clubs such as Le Rex, the Batofar (a boat converted into a club) or The Pulp are quite popular and the world's best DJs play there.
Cinema
Parisians tend to share the same movie-going trends as many of the world's global cities, that is to say with a dominance of Hollywood-generated film entertainment. French cinema comes a close second, with major directors (réalisateurs) such as Claude Lelouch, Jean-Luc Godard, Claude Chabrol and Luc Besson, and the more slapstick/popular genre with director Claude Zidi as an example. European and Asian films are also widely shown and appreciated. A specialty of Paris is its very large network of small movie theaters: on a given week the movie fan has the choice between around 300 old or new movies from all over the world.
Many of Paris' concert/dance halls were transformed into movie theatres when the media became popular from the 1930s. Later most of the largest cinemas were divided into multiple, smaller rooms: Paris' largest cinema today is by far le Grand Rex theatre with 2800 seats, while other cinemas all have less than 1000 seats. There is now a trend toward modern complexes with more than 10 or 20 screens in the same building.
[edit] Cafés, restaurants and hotels
Front view of Les Deux Magots; one of the most famous Parisian cafés, in Saint-Germain-des-Prés.
Front view of Les Deux Magots; one of the most famous Parisian cafés, in Saint-Germain-des-Prés.
Cafés quickly became an integral part of French culture from their appearance, namely from the opening of the left bank Café Procope in 1689 and the café Régence at the Palais-Royale one year earlier. The cafés in the gardens of the latter locale became a quite popular through the 18th-century, and can be considered Paris' first "terrace cafés"; these would not become widespread until sidewalks and boulevards began to appear from the mid-19th century. Cafés are an almost obligatory stop on the way to or from work for many Parisians, and especially during lunchtime.
Paris' culinary reputation has its base in the many origins of its inhabitants. With the early-19th-century railways and ensuing industrial revolution came a flood of migration that brought with it all the gastronomical diversity of France's many different regions, and maintained through 'local speciality' restaurants catering to the tastes of people from all. "Chez Jenny" is a typical example of a restaurant specialising in the cuisine of the Alsace region, and "Aux Lyonnais" is another with a traditional fare originating from its city name's region. Of course migration from even more distant climes meant an even greater culinary diversity, and today, in addition to a great number of North African and Asian establishments, in Paris one can find top-quality cuisine from virtually the world over.
Hotels were another result of widespread travel and tourism, especially Paris' late-19th century Expositions Universelles (World's Fairs). Of the most luxurious of these, the Hôtel Ritz appeared in the Place Vendôme from 1898, and the Hôtel de Crillon opened its doors to the north of the place de la Concorde from 1909.
[edit] Tourism
View over the downtown of Disneyland Resort Paris in suburban Marne-la-Vallée
View over the downtown of Disneyland Resort Paris in suburban Marne-la-Vallée
The Eiffel Tower, the most famous monument of Paris
The Eiffel Tower, the most famous monument of Paris
Paris had always been a destination for traders, students and those on religious pilgrimages, but its 'tourism' in the proper sense of the term began on a large scale only with the appearance of rail travel, namely from state organisation of France's rail network from 1848. One of Paris' first 'mass' attractions drawing international interest were, from 1855, the above-mentioned Expositions Universelles that would bring Paris many new monuments, namely the Eiffel tower from 1889. These, in addition to the Capital's 2nd Empire embellishments, did much to make the city itself the attraction it is today.
Paris' museums and monuments are by far its highest-esteemed attractions, and tourist interest has been nothing but a benefit to these; tourism has even motivated both city and State to create new ones. The city's most prized museum, the Louvre, sees over 6 million visitors a year. Paris' cathedrals are another main attraction: its Notre-Dame cathedral and Sacré-Coeur basilica receive 12 million and 8 million visitors respectively. The Eiffel tower, by far Paris' most famous monument, averages over 6 million visitors per year. Disneyland Resort Paris is a major tourist attraction not only for visitors to Paris, but to Europe as well, with 12.4 million visitors in 2004.
Many of Paris' once-popular local establishments have metamorphised into a parody of French culture, in a form catering to the tastes and expectations of tourist capital. The Moulin Rouge cabaret-dancehall, for example, is a staged dinner theatre spectacle, a dance display that was once but one aspect of the cabaret's former atmosphere. All of the establishment's former social or cultural elements, such as its ballrooms and gardens, are gone today. Much of Paris' hotel, restaurant and night entertainment trades have become heavily dependent on tourism, with results not always positive for Parisian culture.
[edit] Sports
Inside the Stade de France during a rugby union match.
Inside the Stade de France during a rugby union match.
Paris's main sport clubs are the football club Paris Saint-Germain, the basketball team Paris Basket Racing and the rugby union club Stade Français Paris. The 80,000-seat Stade de France was built for the 1998 FIFA World Cup and is used for football and rugby union, and is used annually for French rugby team's home matches of the Six Nations Championship and sometimes for big matches for the Stade Français rugby team. Racing Métro 92 Paris (who now play in Rugby Pro D2) is another rugby team, which actually contested the first ever final against Stade Français in 1892. Paris also hosted the 1900 and 1924 Olympic Games and was venue for the 1938 and 1998 FIFA World Cups.
Although the starting point and the route of the famous Tour de France varies each year, the final stage always finishes in Paris and since 1975, the race has finished on the Champs-Elysées. Tennis is another popular sport in Paris and throughout France. The French Open, held every year on the red clay of the Roland Garros National Tennis Center near the Bois de Boulogne, is one of the four Grand Slam events of the world professional tennis tour.
The 2006 UEFA Champions League Final between Arsenal and FC Barcelona was played in the Stade de France. Paris will host the 2007 Rugby World Cup final at Stade de France on 20 October 2007.
[edit] Economy
Main article: Economy of Paris
With a 2005 GDP of €478.7 billion[6] (US$595.3 billion)[17], the Paris Region is an engine of the global economy: if it were a country, it would rank as the sixteenth largest economy in the world.[18] The Paris Region is thus France's premier centre of economic activity: while its population accounted for 18.7% of the total population of metropolitan France in 2005,[19] its GDP was about 28.5% that of metropolitan France.[6] Activity in the Paris metropolitan area, though diverse, has not found a specialization such as Los Angeles with entertainment industries or London and New York with financial industries. In recent decades, however, the Paris economy has been shifting towards high value-added service industries (finance, IT services, etc.) and high-tech manufacturing (electronics, optics, aerospace, etc.).
[edit] Organisation
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. At the 1999 census, 47.5% of the 5,089,170 people in employment in the Paris metropolitan area (including commuter belt) worked in the city of Paris and the Hauts-de-Seine département, while only 31.5% worked exclusively in Paris[citation needed].
[edit] Sectors
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 metropolitan 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 defense, 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. Among 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. The tourism industry and tourist related services employ 3.6% of the total workforce of the Paris Region (in 1999), and 6.2% of the total workforce of the city of Paris.[20]
[edit] Demography
Demographics within the Paris Region
(according to the INSEE 2005 estimates)
Ile-de-France départements
Areas Population
2005 est. Area
(km²) Density
(/km²) 1999-2005
pop. growth
City of Paris
(département 75) 2,153,600 105 20,433 +1.33%
Inner ring
(Petite Couronne)
(Depts. 92, 93, 94) 4,254,600 657 6,477 +5.34%
Outer ring
(Grande Couronne)
(Depts. 77, 78, 91, 95) 4,991,100 11,249 426 +4.25%
Ile-de-France
(entire région) 11,399,300 12,011 949 +4.08%
Statistical Growth (INSEE 1999 census)
Areas Population
1999 census Area
(km²) Density
(/km²) 1990-1999
pop. growth
Urban area
(Paris agglomeration) 9,644,507 2,723 3,542 +1.85%
Metro area
(Paris aire urbaine) 11,174,743 14,518 770 +2.90%
Main article: Demographics of Paris
The population of the City of Paris was 2,125,246 at the 1999 census, lower than the historical peak of 2.9 million in 1921[citation needed]. This decline was because of the relocation of people to the suburbs caused by de-industrialisation, high rent, the gentrification of many inner quarters and the transformation of living space into offices, although not on the scale seen in some Western cities. These tendencies are generally seen as negative for the city; the city administration is trying to reverse them with some success, as the population estimate of July 2004 shows a population increase for the first time since 1954 reaching a total of 2,144,700 inhabitants.
[edit] Density
The City of Paris is the second most densely populated area in the Western World after Manhattan island in New York City[citation needed]. Its density, excluding the outlying woodland parks of Boulogne and Vincennes, was 24,448 inh. per km² (63,321 inh. per sq. mile) in 1999 official census[citation needed]. Paris' buildings have maintained in most all its quarters a relatively even distribution of apartment housing, office spaces and commercial activities, although some districts have lost much of their apartment housing to office renovations, partly contributing to the decline in population the city has seen since the 1920's.[citation needed]
Paris' most sparsely populated quarters are its western and central office and administration-charged arrondissements[citation needed]. The city is at its densest in its north and east arrondissements; its 11th arrondissement had a density of 40,672/km² (105,339/sq. mile) in 1999[citation needed], and some of the same arrondissement's eastern quarters showed densities close to 100,000/km² (260,000/sq. mile) the same year.[citation needed]
[edit] The Paris agglomeration
The City of Paris is much smaller than its urban growth. At present, the city's urban area (agglomeration) fills a ring of Paris' three neighbouring départements - also known as petite couronne ("small ring") - and extends into an "outer ring" of four grande couronne départements beyond. These eight départements together complete the Île-de-France région.
The Paris agglomeration or urban area (unité urbaine) covers 2,723 km² (1,051.4 mi²) [21], or about 26 times larger than the city of Paris. Beyond this, the couronne peri-urbaine commuter belt region reaches well beyond the limits of the Île-de-France région, and combined with the Paris agglomeration, completes a metropolitan area (aire urbaine) covering 14,518 km² (5,605.5 mi²) [citation needed], or an area about 138 times that of Paris itself.
View over the center of Paris with chinatown high buildings on the right
View over the center of Paris with chinatown high buildings on the right
The Paris agglomeration has shown a steady rate of growth since the end of the late 16th-century French Wars of Religion, save brief setbacks during the French Revolution and World War II[citation needed]. Suburban development has accelerated in recent years, as with an estimated total of 11.4 million inhabitants for 2005, the Île-de-France région shows a rate of growth double that of the 1990s [22][23].
[edit] Immigration
French censuses, by law, ask no questions regarding ethnicity or religion, but do gather information concerning country of birth. From this it is still possible to determine that the Paris metropolitan area is one of the most multi-cultural in Europe: at the 1999 census, 19.4% of its total population was born outside of metropolitan France[24]. At the same census, 4.2% of the Paris metropolitan area's population were recent immigrants (i.e people who migrated to France between the 1990 and 1999 censuses)[25], in their majority from mainland China and Africa[26].
The first wave of international migration to Paris started as early as in 1820 with the arrivals of German peasants fleeing the agricultural crisis in Germany. Several waves of immigration followed continuously until today : Italians and central European Jews during the 19th century; Russians after the revolution of 1917; colonial citizens during World War I and later; Poles between the two world wars; Spaniards, Portuguese and North Africans from the 1950's to the 1970's; North African Jews after the independence of those countries; Africans and Asians since then[27]. The majority of these today are naturalised French without any distinction, in the name of the French Republic principle of equality among its citizens.
[edit] Administration
[edit] Capital of France
Paris is the capital of France, and as such 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. President of the Republic resides at the Elysée Palace in the VIIIe arrondissement, while the Prime Minister's seat is at the Hôtel Matignon in the VIIe arrondissement. Government ministries are located in various parts of the city - many are located in the VIIe, 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 VIe arrondissement, while the more important lower house, the Assemblée Nationale, meets in the Palais Bourbon in the VIIe. 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 tries most criminal and civil cases, is located in the Palais de Justice on the Ile 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 Ier.
The Constitutional Council, which is an advisory body which is the ultimate authority on the constitutionality of laws and government decrees, also meets in the Palais Royal.
[edit] City government
The arrondissements of Paris
The arrondissements of Paris
Main articles: Paris mayors and Arrondissements of Paris
Paris has been a commune (municipality) since 1834 (and also briefly between 1790 and 1795). At the 1790 division of France into communes in the beginning of the French Revolution, and again in 1834, Paris was a city only half its modern size, but in 1860 it annexed bordering communes, some entirely, to create the new administrative map of twenty municipal arrondissements the city still has today. These municipal subdivisions describe a clockwise spiral outward from its most central Ier arrondissement.
Paris as a commune from 1790 became the préfecture (capital) of the Seine département that encompassed Paris and a number of neighbouring communes, but this département was split in 1968 into four smaller ones: the city of Paris became a département distinct from suburban communes in retaining the Seine département 's "75" number (originating from the Seine département's position in France's alphabetical list of départements), while the three new Hauts-de-Seine, Seine-Saint-Denis and Val-de-Marne départements were attributed the numbers 92, 93 and 94 respectively. The result of this division is that today Paris's limits as a département are exactly those of its limits as a commune, a situation unique in France.
[edit] Municipal offices
Each of Paris's 20 arrondissements has a directly-elected council (conseil d'arrondissement), which in turn elects an arrondissement mayor. A selection of members from each arrondissement council form the Council of Paris (conseil de Paris), which in turn elects the mayor of Paris.
The Sun setting over the Seine.
The Sun setting over the Seine.
In medieval times Paris was governed by a merchant-elected municipality whose head was the provost of the merchants: in addition to regulating city commerce, the provost of the merchants was responsible for some civic duties such as the guarding of city walls and the cleanliness of city streets. This role was seconded from the 13th century by the provost of Paris, a direct representative of the king responsible for law and order in the city and its surrounding prévôté (county). Many functions from both offices were transferred to the office of the crown-appointed lieutenant general of police upon its creation in 1667.
Paris' last Prévôt des marchands was assassinated the afternoon of the 14th of July 1789 uprising that was the French Revolution Storming of the Bastille. Paris became an official "commune" from the creation of the administrative division on December 14th the same year, and its provisional "Paris commune" revolutionary municipality was replaced with the city's first municipal constitution and government from October 9, 1790[28]. Through the turmoil of the 1794 Thermidorian Reaction, it became apparent that revolutionary Paris's political independence was a threat to any governing power: the office of mayor was abolished the same year, and its municipal council one year later.
Although the municipal council was recreated in 1834, Paris spent most of the 19th and 20th centuries, along with the larger Seine département of which it was a centre, under the direct control of the State-appointed préfet of the Seine, in charge of general affairs there; the State-appointed Prefect of Police was in charge of police in the same jurisdiction. Paris, save for a few brief occasions, would have no mayor until 1977, and the Paris Prefecture of Police is still under State control today.
Despite its double existence as commune and département, Paris has a unique council to governing both; the Council of Paris, presided by the mayor of Paris, meets either as a municipal council (conseil municipal) or as a departmental council (conseil général) depending on the issue to be debated.
Paris' modern administrative organisation still retains some traces of the former Seine département jurisdiction. The Prefecture of Police (also directing Paris' fire brigades), for example, has still a jurisdiction extending to Paris' petite couronne of bordering three départements for some operations such as fire protection or rescue operations, and is still directed by France's national government. Paris has no municipal police force, although it does have its own brigade of traffic wardens.
The eight départements of the Île-de-France région
The eight départements of the Île-de-France région
[edit] Capital of the Île-de-France région
As part of a 1961 nation-wide administrative effort to consolidate regional economies, Paris as a département became the capital of the new District of the Paris Region, transformed into the Île-de-France région in 1976, encompassing the Paris département and its seven closest départements. The regional council members are chosen by direct elections (since 1986). The prefect of the Paris département (known as the prefect of the Seine département before 1968) is also prefect of the Île-de-France région, although the office lost a lot of its powers with the creation of the office of mayor of Paris in 1977.
[edit] Intercommunality
Few of the above changes have taken into account Paris's existence as an agglomeration. Unlike in most of France's major urban areas such as Lille and Lyon, there is no intercommunal entity in the Paris urban area, no intercommunal council treating the problems of the region's dense urban core as a whole; Paris's alienation of its suburbs is indeed a problem today, and considered by many to be the main causes of civil unrest such as suburban riots in 2005. A direct result of these unfortunate events were propositions for a more efficient metropolitan structure to cover the city of Paris and some of the suburbs, ranging from a socialist idea of a loose "metropolitan conference" (conférence métropolitaine) to the right-wing idea of a more integrated Grand Paris ("Greater Paris").
[edit] Education
In the early 9th century, the Emperor Charlemagne mandated all churches to give lessons in reading, writing and basic arithmetic to their parishes, and cathedrals to give a higher education in the finer arts of language, physics, music and theology. Paris, with its many churches and cathedral, began its rise as a scholastic centre around then.
Twelve centuries later, education in Paris and the Paris region (Île-de-France région) employs approximately 330,000 persons, 170,000 of whom are teachers and professors teaching approximately 2.9 million children and students in around 9,000 primary, secondary, and higher education schools and institutions[29].
[edit] Primary and secondary education
Please help improve this article by expanding this section.
Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion. Please remove this message once the section has been expanded.
This article has been tagged since January 2007.
Paris is home to several of France's most prestigious high-schools such as Lycée Louis-le-Grand and Lycée Henri IV.
Other high-schools of international renown in the Paris area include the Lycée International de Saint Germain-en-Laye and the Ecole Active Bilingue
[edit] Higher education
In the academic year 2004-2005, there were 359,749 students registered in the 17 public universities located throughout the Paris region.[30] This is the largest concentration of university students in Europe, ahead of the agglomerations of London (300,000 university students), Milan (280,000 university students), Madrid (250,000 university students), and Rome (230,000 university students).[31] Beside these 17 public universities, 240,778 more students are registered in the prestigious grandes écoles, as well as in the preparatory classes to the grandes écoles, and in scores of private and public schools independent from universities, thus giving a grand total of 600,527 students in higher education in the academic year 2004-2005.[30]
[edit] Universities
Historical article: University of Paris
Paris Notre-Dame Cathedral was the first center of higher education before the creation of the University of Paris. The universitas, a corporation status granting teachers (and their students) the right to rule themselves independently from crown law and taxes, was chartered by King Philip Augustus in 1200. Many classes then were held in open air. Non-Parisian students and teachers would stay in hostels, or "colleges", created for the boursiers coming from afar. Already famous by the 13th century, the Universty of Paris had students from all of Europe. Paris's Rive Gauche scholastic centre, or "Latin Quarter" as classes were taught in Latin then, would eventually regroup around the college created by Robert de Sorbon from 1257. The University of Paris in the 19th century had six faculties: law, science, medicine, pharmaceutical studies, literature and theology.
The 1968 student riots in Paris, in an effort to disperse the centralised student body, resulted in a near total reform of the University of Paris. The following year, the formerly unique University of Paris was split between thirteen autonomous universities ("Paris I" to "Paris XIII") located throughout the City of Paris and its suburbs. Each of these universities inherited only some of the departments of the old University of Paris, and are not generalist universities. Paris I, II, V and X, inherited the Law School; Paris V inherited the School of Medicine as well; Paris VI and VII inherited the scientific departments; etc.
In 1991, four more universities were created in the suburbs of Paris, reaching a total of seventeen public universities for the Paris (Île-de-France) région. These new universities were given names (based on the name of the suburb in which they are located) and not numbers like the previous thirteen: University of Cergy-Pontoise, University of Évry-Val d'Essonne, University of Marne-la-Vallée and University of Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines.
In Paris there is also the English-speaking Westminster Centre for International Studies, department of London's University of Westminster, as well as the The American University of Paris, a private higher education institution; and also The American Business School of Paris.
[edit] Grandes écoles
The Paris region hosts France's highest concentration of grandes écoles, or prestigious centres of higher specialised education outside the public university structure. Note that the prestigious public universities are usually considered grands établissements. Most of the grandes écoles were relocated to the suburbs of Paris in the 1960s and 1970s, in new campuses much larger than the old campuses within the crowded City of Paris, though the École Normale Supérieure has remained on rue d'Ulm in the Ve arrondissement. The Paris area has a high number of engineering schools, led by the prestigious École Polytechnique, École des Mines, École des Ponts et Chaussées, and École Centrale, forming future actors of France's engineering and industry. Business schools are also many, including world-famous HEC, ESSEC, INSEAD, and ESCP-EAP European School of Management. Although Paris' former elite administrative school ENA was relocated to Strasbourg, the famous political science school Sciences-Po is still located in Paris' Left bank VIIe arrondissement.
See also: Grandes écoles
[edit] Infrastructure
Thalys trains with service to Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany
Thalys trains with service to Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany
Inauguration of the T3 tramway line on the 16th of December, 2006
Inauguration of the T3 tramway line on the 16th of December, 2006
Métro station
Métro station
[edit] Transport
Main articles: Transport in Paris and Transport in France
See also: List of railway stations in Paris
Paris's role as a centre of international trade and tourism has brought its transportation system many embellishments over the past centuries, and its development is still progressing at a rapid pace today. Only in the past few decades Paris has become the center of an autoroute system, high-speed train network and, through its two major airports, a hub of international air travel.
The public transit networks of the Paris region are coordinated by the Syndicat des transports d'Île-de-France [32] (STIF), formerly Syndicat des transports parisiens (STP). Members of the syndicate include the RATP, which operates the Parisian and some suburban buses, the Métro, and sections of the RER; the SNCF, which operates the suburban rail lines and the other sections of the RER ; and other private operators managing some suburban bus lines.
The Métro is one of Paris' most important methods of transportation. The system comprises 16 lines, identified by numbers from 1 to 14, with two minor lines, 3bis and 7bis, numbered thus because they used to be branches of their respective original lines and only later became independent. In October 1998, the new line 14 was inaugurated after a 70-year hiatus in inaugurating fully new métro lines.
There are two tangential tramway lines in the suburbs: Line T1 runs from Saint-Denis to Noisy-le-Sec, line T2 runs from La Défense to Issy. A third line, in the city proper, T-3, between Pont du Garigliano and Porte d'Ivry, along the southern inner orbital road opened for use on December 15, 2006.
Paris is served by two principal airports: Orly Airport, which is south of Paris, and the Charles de Gaulle International Airport in nearby Roissy-en-France, one of the busiest in Europe. A third and much smaller airport, at the town of Beauvais, 70 km (45 mi) to the north of the city, is used by charter and low-cost airlines. Le Bourget airport nowadays only hosts business jets, air trade shows and the aerospace museum.
Paris is a central hub of the national rail network of high-speed (TGV) and normal (Corail) trains. Six major railway stations, Gare du Nord, Gare Montparnasse, Gare de l'Est, Gare de Lyon, Gare d'Austerlitz, and Gare Saint-Lazare connect this train network to the world famous and highly efficient Métro network, with 380 stations connected by 221.6km of rails. Because of the short distance between stations on the Métro network, lines were too slow to be extended further in the suburbs as is the case in most other cities. As such, an additional express network, known as the RER, has been created since the 1960s to connect more distant parts of the conurbation.
The city is also the hub of France's motorway network, and is surrounded by three orbital freeways : the Périphérique which follows the approximate path of 19th-century fortifications around Paris, the A86 autoroute motorway in the inner suburbs, and finally the Francilienne motorway, also known as the A104(north) and N104(south) (and N184), in the outer suburbs. Paris has an extensive road network with over 2000 kilometres of major roads and highways. By road Brussels can be reached in three hours, Frankfurt in 6 hours and Barcelona in 12 hours.
[edit] Water and sanitation
Canal Saint-Martin
Canal Saint-Martin
Paris in its early history had only the Seine and Bièvre rivers for water. Later forms of irrigation were: a first-century Roman aqueduct from southerly Wissous (later left to ruin); sources from the Right bank hills from the late 11th century; from the 15th-century an aqueduct built roughly along the path of the first; finally, from 1809, the canal de l'Ourcq began providing Paris with water from less polluted rivers away from the Capital. Paris would only have its first constant and plentiful source of drinkable water from the late 19th-century: from 1857, under Napoleon III's Préfet Haussmann, the civil engineer Eugène Belgrand oversaw the construction of a series of new aqueducts that would bring sources from distant locations to reservoirs built in the highest points of the Capital. The new sources became Paris' principal source of drinking water, and the remains of the old system, pumped into lower levels of the same reservoirs, were from then dedicated to the cleaning of Paris' streets. This system is still a major part of Paris' modern water supply network.
Paris has over 2,400 km of underground passageways [16] dedicated to the evacuation of Paris' liquid wastes. Most of these even today date from the late 19th century, a result of the combined plans of the Préfet Baron Haussmann and the civil engineer Eugène Belgrand to improve the then very unsanitary conditions in the Capital. Maintained by a round-the-clock service since their construction, only a small percentage of Paris' sewer réseau has needed complete renovation. The entire Paris network of sewers and collectors has been managed since the late 20th century by a computerised network system, known under the acronym "G.A.AS.PAR", that controls all of Paris' water distribution, even the flow of the river Seine through the capital.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)