Since it played a significant role in the Age of Enlightenment and was one of the first major European towns to deploy gas street lighting extensively on its boulevards and monuments, Paris is often referred to as the "City of Light" (La Ville Lumière). Place du Carrousel, Rue de Rivoli, and Place Vendome all received gas lighting in 1829. The Grand Boulevards were illuminated by 1857. By the 1860s, 56,000 gas lights were illuminating Paris' avenues and streets.
France's capital and largest city, Paris, is predicted to have 2,165,423 inhabitants in 2019 and cover an area of more than 41 square miles, ranking it as the 34th most densely populated city in the world by 2020. Since the 17th century, Paris has been one of the principal hubs for science, trade, fashion, diplomacy, and cuisine. It earned the moniker "the City of Light" in the nineteenth century due to its prominence in the arts and sciences and its extremely early implementation of a street lighting system. It was often referred to be the capital of the world, much as London had been before the Second World War.
The International Bureau of Weights and Measures, the International Energy Agency, the International Federation for Human Rights, the OECD, the OECD Development Centre, the International Bureau of Weights and Measures, the European Space Agency, the European Banking Authority, and the European Securities and Markets Authority are among the numerous United Nations organizations with offices in Paris.
