Population ranking of the biggest cities and towns in France based on INSEE data. Compare populations by metropolitan area, conurbation, and commune.

This statistic shows the ten largest cities in France as of 2022. In 2022, around 2.11 million people lived in Paris, making it the largest city in France.

By 1800, London had grown to be the largest city in Western Europe with just under one million inhabitants. Paris was now the second largest city, with over half a million people, and Naples was the third largest city with 450 thousand people. The only other cities with over two hundred thousand inhabitants at this time were Vienna, Amsterdam and Dublin. Another noticeable development is the inclusion of many more northern cities from a wider variety of countries. The dominance of cities from France and Mediterranean countries was no longer the case, and the dispersal of European populations in 1800 was much closer to how it is today, more than two centuries later.

In 2026, the Ile-de-France region, sometimes called the Paris region, was the most populous in France. It is located in the northern part of France, divided into eight departments and crossed by the Seine River. The region contains Paris, its large suburbs, and several rural areas. The total population in metropolitan France was estimated at around ** million inhabitants. In the DOM (Overseas Department), France had more than *** million citizens spread over the islands of Guadeloupe, Martinique, Reunion, Mayotte, and the South American territory of French Guiana. Ile-de-France: the most populous region in France According to the source, more than **** million people lived in the Ile-de-France region. Ile-de-France was followed by Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and the Occitanie region, which is in the Southern part of the country. Ile-de-France is not only the most populated region in France, but it is also the French region with the highest population density. In 2020, there were ******* residents per square kilometer in Ile-de-France compared to ***** for Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, the second most populated region in France. More than two million people were living in the city of Paris in 2025. Thus, the metropolitan area outside the city of Paris, called the suburbs or banlieue in French, had more than ten million inhabitants. Ile-de-France concentrates the majority of the country’s economic and political activities. An urban population In 2025, the total population of France amounted to almost ** million. The population in the country has increased since the mid-2000s. As well as the other European countries, France is experiencing urbanization. In 2023, more than ** percent of the French population lived in cities. This phenomenon shapes France’s geography.

Urban population growth has been constant for several decades in France. Between 1960 and 2023, it rose from 61.88 percent to 81.78 percent. The phenomenon of urbanization was more significant in the 1960s. Indeed, over this period, the rate of the French population living in cities increased by 10 points. The evolution was more weighted over the next 50 years, rising from 71.06 percent in 1970 to 80.98 percent in 2020.An increase in urbanization was accompanied over the same period by a sharp rise in the overall French population, from 55.57 million inhabitants in 1982 to around 68 million in 2024. Paris, an urban giant in France Like in the United Kingdom, the French-style centralized system has led to a high concentration of population around economic, financial, cultural and political centers, all located in the British and French capitals. London and Paris (and its conurbation) are among the largest urban centers on the continent, with Moscow being the most populous. This centralization of power has led to a very heterogenous distribution of population density. The Paris region has a density of more than 1000 inhabitants per km², which is ten times higher than the Haut-de-France region, the second densest region in Metropolitan France.This centralization of power attracts a strong French and foreign workforce. The French capital is by far the most populated city in France. If solely the municipality of Paris is taken into account, it had more than 2 million inhabitants in 2019, which is more than twice as many as in Marseille and four times as many as in Lyon, the country's second and third most populous cities. Future challenges for French cities Access to employment is no longer the only reason to settle in a town. Other factors come into play in the life choices of city dwellers. In 2019, more than 90% of the French estimated that the presence of green areas was important to settle or not in a district. The pollution level of the city was also considered in the choice of the city. In order to address these pollution problems, municipalities must resolve transportation issues on their own territory. Previously the king of the town, the car is increasingly losing ground to public transport in urban areas. Cities like Paris are relying more on public transport. Between 2011 and 2016, RATP and SNCF have built more than 60 kilometers of tramway tracks . Moreover, the construction of additional train and metro lines in the Grand Paris project aimed at better connecting the suburbs to each other without passing through intramural Paris.Making it easier to travel by bicycle is one of the options chosen by many conurbations to relieve congestion in their cities. Since the early 2000s, self-service bicycles have been a great success in France with more than 2400 bicycles available in Toulouse or 4000 in Lyon in 2017. A source of much tension between motorists, municipalities and cyclists, the sharing of the road between 4 and 2 wheelers has, however, been widely developed. In Strasbourg, for example, the municipality had around 1.04 metres of cycle lanes per inhabitant in 2017, the highest rate in France. However, the layout of cycle paths can be perilous and a majority of cyclists in France still feel unsafe on the road.

This statistic shows the number of pharmacies in the ten largest cities in France in 2018. That year, there were ***** pharmacies in Paris.

Major cities in France.

This statistic indicates the number of blood transfusion establishments in the ten largest cities of France in 2017. According to the INSEE, there were more than *** blood transfusion establishments in the French capital.

In 1500, the largest city was Paris, with an estimated 225 thousand inhabitants, almost double the population of the second-largest city, Naples. As in 1330, Venice and Milan remain the third and fourth largest cities in Western Europe, however Genoa's population almost halved from 1330 until 1500, as it was struck heavily by the bubonic plague in the mid-1300s. In lists prior to this, the largest cities were generally in Spain and Italy, however, as time progressed, the largest populations could be found more often in Italy and France. The year 1500 is around the beginning of what we now consider modern history, a time that saw the birth of many European empires and inter-continental globalization.

Between 1500 and 1800, London grew to be the largest city in Western Europe, with its population growing almost 22 times larger in this period. London would eventually overtake Constantinople as Europe's largest in the 1700s, before becoming the largest city in the world (ahead of Beijing) in the early-1800s.

The most populous cities in this period were the capitals of European empires, with Paris, Amsterdam, and Vienna growing to become the largest cities, alongside the likes of Lisbon and Madrid in Iberia, and Naples or Venice in Italy. Many of northwestern Europe's largest cities in 1500 would eventually be overtaken by others not shown here, such as the port cities of Hamburg, Marseilles or Rotterdam, or more industrial cities such as Berlin, Birmingham, and Munich.

The catchment area of a city is a group of municipalities, of a single enclave and enclave, which defines the extent of the influence of a cluster of population and employment on the surrounding municipalities, this influence being measured by the intensity of commuting to work. Urban area zoning follows the zoning into urban areas in 2010. An area consists of a pole and a crown. — Poles are determined mainly on the basis of density and total population criteria, using a methodology consistent with that of the municipal density grid. A threshold of jobs is added in order to prevent essentially residential municipalities with few jobs from being considered poles. Within the pole, the most populous commune is called the center commune. If a pole sends at least 15 % of its assets to work in another pole of the same level, the two poles are associated and together form the heart of a catchment area. — Municipalities that send at least 15 % of their assets to work in the pole are the crown of the area. The definition of the largest catchment areas of cities is consistent with the definition of “cities” and “functional urban areas” used by Eurostat and the OECD to analyse the functioning of cities. Zoning into catchment areas thus facilitates international comparisons and makes it possible to visualise the influence in France of major foreign cities. For example, seven areas have a town located abroad (Bâle, Charleroi, Geneva, Lausanne, Luxembourg, Monaco and Saarbrücken). The areas are classified according to the total number of inhabitants of the area in 2017. The main thresholds selected are: Paris, 700,000 inhabitants, 200,000 inhabitants and 50,000 inhabitants. Areas whose pole is located abroad are classified in the category corresponding to their total population (French and foreign). Urban catchment areas, dated 2020, were constructed with reference to commuting known in the 2016 Census. Downloadable files provide the characteristics of the city’s catchment areas (size slice, number of municipalities) and the municipal composition of the city’s catchment areas.

The catchment area of a city is a group of municipalities, of a single enclave and enclave, which defines the extent of the influence of a cluster of population and employment on the surrounding municipalities, this influence being measured by the intensity of commuting to work.

Urban area zoning follows the zoning into urban areas in 2010.

An area consists of a pole and a crown.

— Poles are determined mainly on the basis of density and total population criteria, using a methodology consistent with that of the municipal density grid. A threshold of jobs is added in order to prevent essentially residential municipalities with few jobs from being considered poles. Within the pole, the most populous commune is called the center commune. If a pole sends at least 15 % of its assets to work in another pole of the same level, the two poles are associated and together form the heart of a catchment area. — Municipalities that send at least 15 % of their assets to work in the pole are the crown of the area.

The definition of the largest catchment areas of cities is consistent with the definition of “cities” and “functional urban areas” used by Eurostat and the OECD to analyse the functioning of cities. Zoning into catchment areas thus facilitates international comparisons and makes it possible to visualise the influence in France of major foreign cities. For example, seven areas have a town located abroad (Bâle, Charleroi, Geneva, Lausanne, Luxembourg, Monaco and Saarbrücken).

The areas are classified according to the total number of inhabitants of the area in 2017. The main thresholds selected are: Paris, 700,000 inhabitants, 200,000 inhabitants and 50,000 inhabitants. Areas whose pole is located abroad are classified in the category corresponding to their total population (French and foreign).

Urban catchment areas, dated 2020, were constructed with reference to commuting known in the 2016 Census.

Downloadable files provide the characteristics of the city’s catchment areas (size slice, number of municipalities) and the municipal composition of the city’s catchment areas.

The catchment area of a city is a group of municipalities, of a single enclave and enclave, which defines the extent of the influence of a cluster of population and employment on the surrounding municipalities, this influence being measured by the intensity of commuting to work. Urban area zoning follows the zoning into urban areas in 2010. An area consists of a pole and a crown. — Poles are determined mainly on the basis of density and total population criteria, using a methodology consistent with that of the municipal density grid. A threshold of jobs is added in order to prevent essentially residential municipalities with few jobs from being considered poles. Within the pole, the most populous commune is called the center commune. If a pole sends at least 15 % of its assets to work in another pole of the same level, the two poles are associated and together form the heart of a catchment area. — Municipalities that send at least 15 % of their assets to work in the pole are the crown of the area. The definition of the largest catchment areas of cities is consistent with the definition of “cities” and “functional urban areas” used by Eurostat and the OECD to analyse the functioning of cities. Zoning into catchment areas thus facilitates international comparisons and makes it possible to visualise the influence in France of major foreign cities. For example, seven areas have a town located abroad (Bâle, Charleroi, Geneva, Lausanne, Luxembourg, Monaco and Saarbrücken). The areas are classified according to the total number of inhabitants of the area in 2017. The main thresholds selected are: Paris, 700,000 inhabitants, 200,000 inhabitants and 50,000 inhabitants. Areas whose pole is located abroad are classified in the category corresponding to their total population (French and foreign). Urban catchment areas, dated 2020, were constructed with reference to commuting known in the 2016 Census. Downloadable files provide the characteristics of the city’s catchment areas (size slice, number of municipalities) and the municipal composition of the city’s catchment areas.

Malaysia Tourist Arrival: Sightseeing In Cities: France data was reported at 91.600 % in 2015. This records an increase from the previous number of 81.800 % for 2014. Malaysia Tourist Arrival: Sightseeing In Cities: France data is updated yearly, averaging 85.900 % from Dec 2001 (Median) to 2015, with 15 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 99.100 % in 2013 and a record low of 29.000 % in 2003. Malaysia Tourist Arrival: Sightseeing In Cities: France data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Tourism Malaysia. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Malaysia – Table MY.Q009: Tourist Arrivals By Major Activities Engaged.

L_AIRE_ATT_VILLE_2020_ZSUP_FLA_000 Attractions of cities in 2020 in Corrèze and neighbouring departments. Objects located on the outskirts of neighbouring departments may not be complete if they overflow on the neighbouring deparetment. Sources: INSEE + GeoFLA IGN https://www.insee.fr/fr/information/4803954 The catchment area of a city is a group of municipalities, of a single enclave and enclave, which defines the extent of the influence of a cluster of population and employment on the surrounding municipalities, this influence being measured by the intensity of commuting to work. Urban area zoning follows the zoning into urban areas in 2010. An area consists of a pole and a crown. * Poles are determined mainly on the basis of density and total population criteria, using a methodology consistent with that of the municipal density grid. A threshold of jobs is added in order to prevent essentially residential municipalities with few jobs from being considered poles. Within the pole, the most populous commune is called the center commune. If a pole sends at least 15 % of its assets to work in another pole of the same level, the two poles are associated and together form the heart of a catchment area. * Municipalities that send at least 15 % of their assets work in the pole are the crown of the area. The definition of the largest catchment areas of cities is consistent with the definition of “cities” and “functional urban areas” used by Eurostat and the OECD to analyse the functioning of cities. Zoning into catchment areas thus facilitates international comparisons and makes it possible to visualise the influence in France of major foreign cities. For example, seven areas have a town located abroad (Bâle, Charleroi, Geneva, Lausanne, Luxembourg, Monaco and Saarbrücken). The areas are classified according to the total number of inhabitants of the area in 2017. The main thresholds selected are: Paris, 700,000 inhabitants, 200,000 inhabitants and 50,000 inhabitants. Areas whose pole is located abroad are classified in the category corresponding to their total population (French and foreign). Urban catchment areas, dated 2020, were constructed with reference to commuting known in the 2016 Census. Downloadable files provide the characteristics of the city’s catchment areas (size slice, number of municipalities) and the municipal composition of the city’s catchment areas.

This statistic shows the gross rental profitability of the 30 largest cities in France in 2019. At that time, Boulogne-Billancourt and Bordeaux were the French cities where the gross rental profitability was the lowest. In contrast, Limoges and Le Mans were the French cities with the highest gross rental profitability.

Since 2014, Eurostat and the UNODC have launched a joint annual data collection on crime and criminal justice statistics, using the UN crime trends questionnaire and complementary Eurostat requests

for specific areas of interest to the European Commission. The data and metadata are collected from National Statistical Institutes or other relevant authorities (mainly police and justice departments) in each EU Member State, EFTA country and EU potential members. On the Eurostat website, data are available for 41 jurisdictions since 2008 until 2018 data and for 38 jurisdictions since 2019 data (EU-27, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Albania, Serbia, Turkey, Kosovo(1)), having drop the data for the United Kingdom separately owing to three separate jurisdictions England and Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland.

This joint data collection and other data collections carried out by Eurostat allows to gather information on:

• police-recorded offences by type of crime
• police-recorded offences by NUTS3 region
• intentional homicide and sexual violence victims and perpetrators (suspected, prosecuted, convicted) by sex
• intentional homicide victims by age, sex, and relationship to the offender
• intentional homicide victims and offences in largest cities
• offenders by justice legal status (suspected, prosecuted, convicted), age, sex, and citizenship
• persons brought before criminal courts by legal status (convicted persons/acquitted)
• personnel by institution (police, courts, and prisons) by sex
• legal cases in first instance courts by type and stage
• prisoners by age, sex, citizenship, and status of the trial process
• prison capacity and occupancy
• people involved in human trafficking by legal status (victims, suspected and convicted traffickers) and victims of human trafficking by all forms of exploitation and citizenship

Where available, data are broken down by sex, age groups (adults/juveniles), country of citizenship (foreigners or nationals) and other relevant variables. National data are available and for intentional homicide offences, city level data (largest cities) are available for some countries. Regional data at NUTS3 level are also available for some police-recorded offences.

Some historical series are available:

• Number of police-recorded crimes by type (intentional homicide, violence, robbery, home burglary, car thefts, and drug crimes) for the period 1993 – 2007
• Number of police-recorded homicide in cities for the period 1993 – 2007
• Number of police officers for the period 1993 – 2007
• Prison population for the period 1993 – 2007

Total number of police-recorded crimes for the period 1950 – 2000

(1) under United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244/99

It is estimated that the largest cities in Western Europe in 1330 were Paris and Granada. At this time, Paris was the seat of power in northern France, while Granada had become the largest multicultural city in southern Spain, controlled by the Muslim, Nasrid Kingdom during Spain's Reconquista period. The next three largest cities were Venice, Genoa and Milan, all in northern Italy, renowned as important trading cities during the middle ages. In October 1347, the first wave of the Black Death had arrived in Sicily and then began spreading throughout Europe, decimating the population.

The French capital city of Paris concentrated around *** ophthalmologists in 2016, making it the city in France concentrating the highest number of these medical specialists. Furthermore, Marseille, in the south of France, had around *** ophthalmologists during that year.

The French capital city of Paris concentrated around *** cardiologists in 2017, making it the city in France concentrating the highest number of these medical specialists. Furthermore, Marseille, in the south of France, had around *** cardiologists during that year.