Introduction1. Paris and Île-de-France2. Social, economic and spatial history of the Île-de-France metropolis3. Political history of Île-de-France, 1789-20014. The economy of Île-de-France: from national capital to global metropolis5. Problems and challenges6. Policies7. A blocked system of governance8. Conclusion

Christian Lefèvre is Professor at Ecole d'Urbanisme de Paris, Universite Paris-Est. He is a member of the executive committee of the European Urban Research Association (EURA) and has been a consultant for the OECD, European Commission, UN-Habitat and the city of Paris. He is coauthor of Struggling Giants: City-Region Governance in London, New York, Paris and Tokyo (2012).