<P> Throughout the industrial world, cities were hit hard during the Great Depression, beginning in 1929 and lasting through most of the 1930s . Worst hit were port cities (as world trade fell) and cities that depended on heavy industry, such as steel and automobiles . Service - oriented cities were hurt less severely . Political centers such as Washington, London and Berlin flourished during the Great Depression, as the expanded role of government added many new jobs . </P> <P> The worldwide Great Depression had a moderate impact on the French economy, which proved resilient . Conditions worsened in 1931 bringing hardships and a more somber mood . Unemployment rose, and hours of work were cut; however the price of food sharply declined, offsetting some of the hardship . The population of Paris declined slightly from its all - time peak of 2.9 million in 1921 to 2.8 million in 1936 . The arrondissements in the center lost as much as twenty percent of their population, while the outer neighborhoods, gained ten percent . The low birth rate of Parisians was compensated by a new wave of immigration from Russia, Poland, Germany, eastern and central Europe, Italy, Portugal and Spain . Political tensions mounted in Paris with strikes, demonstrations and confrontations between the Communists and Front populaire on the extreme left and the Action Française on the extreme right . </P>

Who was hit hardest by the great depression