Île-de-France is one of the 26 régions of France. Its territory corresponds roughly to the metropolitan area of Paris. It was created in 1976, replacing a District of the Paris Region which had been created in 1961. Despite the name change in 1976, the région is still popularly (unofficially) refered to as the Paris Region by French people (French: Région Parisienne, or RP)

Île-de-France is the most populated région of France, having more inhabitants than the European countries Belgium, Greece, or Sweden, and about as many inhabitants as the U.S. state of Ohio. It is the third most populous subnational entity in the European Union after North Rhine-Westphalia and Bavaria.

History

1959: February 4, District of the Paris Region (district de la région de Paris) created by a government decree.

This creation was a failure, due to a lack of cooperation from the communes and the départements of the Paris region which refused to send their representatives to the district council.

1961: August 2, District of the Paris Region re-created with the same name, but this time by a statute (bill) voted by the French Parliament. The limits of this new District of the Paris Region were exactly the same as the current Île-de-France région.

The district council of the aborted 1959 District of the Paris Region was replaced by a Board of Trustees (conseil d'administration), half of whose members were appointed by the French government, the other half by the local communes and départements. The executive of the district was a civil servant, the Delegate General for the District of the Paris Region (délégué général au district de la région de Paris), appointed by the French government.

1966: August 10: creation of the Prefecture of the Paris Region (préfecture de la région parisienne), whose limits corresponded exactly to the current Île-de-France région. The Delegate General for the District of the Paris Region was made Prefect of the Paris Region, holding both offices at the same time.

1966: December 17: in French the "district de la région de Paris" was renamed "district de la région parisienne" (same meaning in English).

1976: May 6: the District of the Paris Region was transformed into the Île-de-France région, thus aligning the status of the Paris Region with that of other French régions, which possessed their status since 1972. The Prefecture of the Paris Region was renamed Prefecture of Île-de-France.

The former Board of Trustees was replaced by a regional council, 70% of whose members were the representatives of the départements and communes of Île-de-France, while the remaining 30% were chosen by the Members of the French Parliament whose constituencies lay inside Île-de-France. The regional council elected a president, whose executive powers were limited. The office of Delegate General was abolished.

It is said that President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing personally insisted on choosing the name "Île-de-France" for the région, instead of the hitherto used "région parisienne" ("Paris Region"). Île-de-France was the name of the historical province that existed before the French Revolution, but the name had long since fallen out of use. Today, many people and even some official institutions still continue to use the name "région parisienne" instead of the official "Île-de-France".

1982: March 2: Île-de-France, like the other French régions, was turned into a "territorial collectivity", i.e. it is no more a mere administrative structure, but a full-fledged political entity, on par with the départements and the communes. The powers of the régions were expanded, direct elections of the regional councils were scheduled, and the presidents of the regional councils were given full executive powers.

1986: March 16: first direct election of the regional council by the inhabitants of Île-de-France. The powers and visibility of the Île-de-France région are henceforth greatly increased.