|
However on 2 August 1961 the District of the Paris Region was
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 and the Delegate General for the
District of the Paris Region (délégué général au district de la région de Paris) was
appointed by the French government.
On 10 August 1966 there was the 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.
Shortly afterwards (on 17 December 1966 to be precise!) known in French
as the "district de la région de Paris" was renamed "district de la
région parisienne" (being the same meaning in English!!).
Yet it wasn't until 6 May 1976 that 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 had already 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 one 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".
|
|
