SEINE, the department of northern France which has Paris as its chief town, formed in 1790 of part of the province of Ile de-France. It is entirely surrounded by the department of Seine et-Oise, from which it is separated at certain parts by the Seine, the Marne and the Bievre. The area of the department is only 185 sq.m., and of this surface about a sixth is occupied by Paris; the suburban towns also are close together and very populous. The population in 1931 was 4,933,855, of which number 2,891,020 were in the city of Paris. Flowing from south-east to north-west through the department, the Seine forms three loops ; on the right it receives above Paris the Marne, below Paris the Rouillon, and on the left the Bievre within the city. The left bank, higher than the right, consists of the Villejuif and Chatillon plateaux separated by the Bievre ; the highest point (56o ft.) is above Chatillon and the lowest (105) at the exit of the Seine.
Market gardening is the chief agricultural industry, and by means of irrigation and manuring the soil is made to yield from ten to eleven crops per annum. Below Paris the plain of Genne villiers, fertilized by sewage water, yields large quantities of vegetables. Milch cows are reared in large numbers. The prin cipal woods (Boulogne and Vincennes) belong to Paris. It is partly owing to the number of quarries in the district that Paris owes its origin : Chatillon and Montrouge in the south yield freestone, and Bagneux and Clamart in the south and Montreuil and Romainville in the east possess the richest plaster quarries in France. Within the circuit of Paris are certain old quarries now
forming the catacombs. Most of the industrial establishments in the department are situated in Paris or at St. Denis (qq.v.). The department is traversed by all the railway lines which con verge in Paris, and also contains the inner circuit railway (Chemin de Fer de Ceinture) and part of the outer circuit. There are many canals. The department forms the archiepiscopal diocese of Paris, falls within the jurisdiction of the Paris court of appeal and the academie (educational division) of Paris, and is divided between the II., III., IV., V. and VI. corps d'armee. Apart from Paris (q.v.) the department includes the arrondissements of St. Denis and Sceaux with 22 cantons between them. The 20 arron dissements of Paris are ranked as cantons for certain purposes. The chief places besides Paris are St. Denis, Asnieres, Auber villiers, Boulogne-sur-Seine, Clichy-sur-Seine, Courbevoie, Leval lois-Perret, Neuilly-sur-Seine, Pantin, St. Ouen, Colombes, Charenton, Ivry-sur-Seine, Montreuil-sous-Bois, Nanterre, No gent-sur-Marne, Vincennes and Arcueil.