It's been pointed out here many times that France is rather centralized around Paris compared to many other European states. Not just in a political sense, either, but economically, culturally, and demographically, as well. For example, today the Parisian metropolitan area has a population of over ten million, over a sixth of the country's entire population. Compared to, say, Germany or Italy, similarly-sized and bordering countries with a multitude of regional centers, this seems a bit strange and unusual.
Why did France develop in such a way, and is there any way to change this--to make France a nation of regions, rather than a nation of Paris? Naively at least it would seem that it had something to do with the successful efforts of French kings to centralize over the past millennium, versus the unsuccessful efforts of the German emperors, much less the states of Italy, a theory bolstered by the fact that London (the capital of a similarly relatively centralized state) is also very large relative to its national population. Yet I seem to recall that even when the country was relatively decentralized Paris had an outsized importance compared to other regions of the country, so surely this isn't the whole story?
Why did France develop in such a way, and is there any way to change this--to make France a nation of regions, rather than a nation of Paris? Naively at least it would seem that it had something to do with the successful efforts of French kings to centralize over the past millennium, versus the unsuccessful efforts of the German emperors, much less the states of Italy, a theory bolstered by the fact that London (the capital of a similarly relatively centralized state) is also very large relative to its national population. Yet I seem to recall that even when the country was relatively decentralized Paris had an outsized importance compared to other regions of the country, so surely this isn't the whole story?