Paris

PARIS, capital of France and of the department of Seine, situated on the Ile de la Cite, the Ile St. Louis and the Ile Louviers, in the Seine, as well as on both banks of the Seine, 233 m. from its mouth and 285 m. S.S.E. of London (by rail and steamer via Dover and Calais), in 48° 50' 14" N., 2° 20' 14" E. (observatory). It occupies the centre of the so-called Paris basin, which is tra versed by the Seine from south-east to north-west, open towards the west, and surrounded by a line of Jurassic heights. The granitic substratum is covered by Jurassic, Cretaceous and Ter tiary formations; and at several points building materials—free stone, limestone or gypsum—have been laid bare by erosion. It is partly, indeed, to the existence of such quarries in its neighbour hood, and to the vicinity of the grain-bearing regions of the Beauce and Brie, that the city owes its development. Still more important is its position at the crossing place of many continental lines of communication, that from Spain via western France, that from east Spain and the Mediterranean via the Rhone, those from Switzerland via Geneva, Pontarlier or Basle and on via Belf ort and Troyes or via Dijon and Sens, those from Germany via Lorraine, those from the Low Countries via Flanders, and lastly, those from the western sea. Paris is intermediately situated be tween the Mediterranean and the British regions, and also between the Mediterranean and Central Europe. The altitude of Paris varies between 8o ft. (at the Point du Jour, the exit of the Seine from the fortifications) and 420 ft. at the hill of Montmartre, in the north of the city; the other chief eminence is the hill of Ste. Genevieve, on the left bank. The 1840 walls are, since 186o, the limit for the collection of municipal customs dues (octroi). The fortifications have been superseded since 1919. Within the wall the area of the city is 19,279 ac. ; the river runs through it from east to west in a broad curve for a distance of nearly eight miles.

Climate.

The mean temperature is 50.5°, that for January being 36.5° and that for July 65.5°. The lowest temperature recorded is —14° and the highest To' The Seine freezes when the temperature stays below 18° for a time. Frost is expected on

about half the nights of the three winter months.

The rainfall is rather evenly distributed, with 2o% in winter, 23% in spring, 28% in summer, and 29% in autumn. The rainiest months are June and October and the driest is February. The average yearly fall is 20.8 inches. The climate has been described as somewhat continental in winter and somewhat oceanic in sum mer. There are observatories on the Tour St. Jacques, and at Mont souris, at Parc St. Maur, and at the three levels on the Tour Eiffel.

Topography.

The development of Paris can be traced out wards, in approximately concentric rings, from the Gallo-Roman town on the Ile de la Cite to the fortifications which now form its boundary. A line of boulevards known as the Grands Boulevards, coinciding in great part with ramparts of the 14th, 16th and i 7th centuries, encloses most of old Paris, a portion of which extends southwards beyond the Boulevard St. Germain. Outside the Grands Boulevards lie the faubourgs or old suburbs, round which runs another enceinte of boulevards—boulevards exterieurs corresponding to ramparts of the 18th century. Beyond them, other and more modern suburbs, incorporated with the city after 186o, stretch to the boulevards which line the fortifications of the period 186o-1919. In 1919 the fortified enceinte was abolished and its area was set apart for the building of flats at moderate rentals (Pelouse d'Avron on the east, and La Courneuve and Le Bourget on the north-east), and the provision of open spaces (park of the ancient Château des Sceaux, sites of former forts, etc.). A new "cite" for the university, with hostels, so far for British, Belgian and Argentine students, has been begun near Montsouris park, south of the city. The north, east and south are commercial or industrial in character, inhabited mainly by the working classes and petite bourgeoisie, on the west are wealthier residential centres (Auteuil and Passy). Of the faubourgs of Paris, those to the north and east are mainly commercial (Faubourgs St. Denis, St. Martin, Poissonniere) or industrial (Faubourgs du Temple and St. Antoine) in character, while to the west the Faubourg St.