The study provides elements of a socio-economic diagnosis of the central business district in Paris, in the context of a dynamic economic relationship with the axis of La Defence. The central business district forms the largest and densest hub of jobs in Paris with 420,548 salaried jobs in 2000, made up essentially of top city jobs due to the concentration of big national and international group head offices in the sector.
It also houses the largest office park (around 6.5 to 7 million m2 of office space out of a total 16 million m2 used in the district). The analysis of the property market highlights the growing scarcity of new office space which puts pressure on the market in the short and medium term. The area's commercial tissue gives clear evidence of its vitality with a lower rate of vacancy than the Parisian average and a specialisation in luxury goods.
The second part of the study presents an estimation of the likelihood that buildings currently used as offices will return to their original function as housing, based both on statistical analysis and a field survey.