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Metropolitan France
As of
January 1,
2007,
metropolitan France is divided into:
★ 22
regions (although strictly speaking
Corsica is in fact a "territorial collectivity", not a region; it is nonetheless referred to as a region in common speech)
★ the regions are subdivided into 96
departments
★ the departments are in turn divided into 329
arrondissements
★ the arrondissements are then divided into 3,879
cantons
★ the cantons are subdivided into 36,569
communes (although some of the larger communes actually are composed of several cantons)
★
★ 3 communes (
Paris,
Marseille, and
Lyon) are further divided into 45
municipal arrondissements
★
★ there also exist 730
associated communes (as of January 2006), formerly independent communes which were merged with larger communes but have retained some limited degree of autonomy (e.g. the commune of
Lomme which was absorbed by
Lille in
2000 and transformed into an "associated commune" inside the commune of Lille)
Furthermore, as of
January 1,
2007, there exist 2,573
intercommunal structures grouping 33,327 communes (91.1% of all the communes of metropolitan France), with 52.86 million people living in them (86.7% of the population of metropolitan France).
[ Répartition des EPCI à fiscalité propre par département au 01/01/2007 ] These intercommunal structures are:
★ 14
Urban communities (''communautés urbaines'', or CU)
★ 163
Agglomeration communities (''communautés d'agglomération'', or CA)
★ 2,391
Commune communities (''communautés de communes'', or CC)
★ 5
Syndicates of New Agglomeration (''syndicats d'agglomération nouvelle'', or SAN), a category being phased out
Overseas
The French Republic is further made up of the following overseas administrative divisions:
★ 4
overseas regions (''régions d'outre-mer'', or ROM):
Guadeloupe,
French Guiana,
Martinique, and
Réunion, which have the same status as metropolitan regions (as much as
Hawaii has the same status as a continental US state). The overseas regions are also classified as
overseas departments (''départements d'outre-mer'', or DOM), again with the same status as departments in metropolitan France. This double structure (region/department) is new, due to the recent extension of the regional scheme to the overseas departments, and may soon transform into a single structure, with the merger of the regional and departmental assemblies, unless new departments are created such as in the case of Réunion, where it has been proposed to create a second department in the south of the island, with the region of Réunion above these two départements.
::
★ the overseas regions/departments are subdivided into 12 arrondissements
::
★ the 12 arrondissements are further subdivided into 153 cantons
::
★ the 153 cantons are composed of 112 communes (in the 4 DOM, there are more cantons than communes, unlike in metropolitan France, because many communes are divided into several cantons, whereas in metropolitan France in general cantons are made up of several communes, except in large communes like Toulouse or Lille which are divided into several cantons)
::
★ Furthermore, as of
January 1,
2007, there exist 15 intercommunal structures in the overseas departments, grouping 87 communes (77.7% of all the communes of the overseas departments), with 1.36 million people living in them (78.5% of the population of these departments).
These intercommunal structures are:
:::
★ 6 Agglomeration communities
:::
★ 9 Commune communities
★ 6
overseas collectivities (''collectivités d'outre-mer'', or COM):
French Polynesia,
Mayotte,
Saint-Barthélemy,
Saint-Martin,
Saint-Pierre and Miquelon and
Wallis and Futuna
::
★
French Polynesia (designated as an "overseas country", French: ''pays d'outre-mer'') is divided into 5 administrative subdivisions (''subdivisions administratives''). For elections it is divided into 6 electoral districts (''circonscriptions électorales'') which differ slightly from the 5 administrative subdivisions. The 5 administrative subdivisions are divided into 48 communes. There also exist some
associated communes as in
metropolitan France.
::
★
Mayotte (designated as a "departmental collectivity", French: ''collectivité départementale'') is divided into 17 communes with no arrondissements. There are also 19 cantons matching exactly the communes except in the case of the commune of
Mamoudzou which is divided into three cantons.
::
★
Saint-Barthélemy is a new overseas collectivity created on
February 22,
2007. It was previously a commune inside the Guadeloupe region. The commune structure was abolished and Saint-Barthélemy is now one of only three permanently inhabited territories of the French Republic with no
commune structure. There are no cantons and arrondissements either.
::
★
Saint-Martin is also a new overseas collectivity created on
February 22,
2007. It was previously a commune inside the Guadeloupe region. The commune structure was abolished and Saint-Martin is now one of only three permanently inhabited territories of the French Republic with no
commune structure. There are no cantons and arrondissements either.
::
★
Saint-Pierre and Miquelon (designated as a "territorial collectivity", French: ''collectivité territoriale'', the same designation as
Corsica which is a
region and not an overseas collectivity) is divided into 2 communes with no arrondissements or cantons.
::
★
Wallis and Futuna is divided into 3 districts (''circonscriptions territoriales'') which exactly match the three traditional chiefdoms (''royaumes coutumiers'') with their traditional kings still at their head, the only kings currently recognized in the French Republic. These 3 districts are:
Uvea,
Sigave, and
Alo. Uvea is the most populous and is further divided into 3 wards (''districts'' in French):
Hahake,
Mua, and
Hihifo. Wallis and Futuna is one of only three permanently inhabited territory of the French Republic with no communes. It also has no arrondissements or cantons.
★ 1
sui generis collectivity (''collectivité sui generis''):
New Caledonia, whose status is unique in the French Republic: it is the only French local government which is not a
territorial collectivity (although its subdivisions are territorial collectivities). A self-determination referendum is scheduled for 2014 to decide the future status of the New Caledonia.
::
★ It is divided into 3 provinces
::
★ the provinces are subdivided into 33 communes
★ 1
overseas territory (''territoire d'outre-mer'', or TOM): the
French Southern and Antarctic Lands, which have no permanent population and no communes.
::
★ the French Southern and Antarctic Lands are divided into 5 districts (''districts'' in French):
::: 1.
Kerguelen Islands
::: 2.
Crozet Islands
::: 3.
Amsterdam Island and
Saint Paul Island
::: 4.
Adelie Land, although sovereignty over Adelie Land in Antarctica is suspended since the signing of the
Antarctic Treaty in 1959.
::: 5. the
Scattered Islands (''îles Éparses''), a collection of five non permanently inhabited islands in the
Indian Ocean:
Bassas da India,
Europa,
Juan de Nova,
Glorioso, and
Tromelin. These were previously administered separately but they have been joined with the French Southern and Antarctic Lands since February 2007.
★ Uninhabited islands which belong directly to the central State
public land:
::
★
Clipperton Island: uninhabited island in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of
Mexico which is directly under the authority of the
Minister of Overseas France in
Paris (until February 2007 it was administered by the high-commissioner of the French Republic in French Polynesia). Since the Scattered Islands were joined with the French Southern and Antarctic Lands also in February 2007, Clipperton Island is now the only island left in this category.
Territorial collectivities
French administrative subdivisions that have a (limited) freedom of administration are called
territorial collectivities. Among them are regions, departments, communes, overseas collectivities, provinces (New Caledonia) and the territorial collectivity of Corsica which belongs to no category (but is close to regions).
New Caledonia is unique as it is not a territorial collectivity.
General rules
Citizens from all parts of France, including overseas possessions, vote in national elections (
presidential,
legislative) and all collectivities are represented in the
Senate.
List of departments by region
Regions and departments of France.
Historical divisions
Historically, France was divided into provinces; see
Provinces of France.
See also
★
List of fifteen largest French metropolitan areas by population
★
French overseas departments and territories
★
Zone d'études et d'aménagement du territoire (ZEAT), the eight statistical divisions of metropolitan (mainland) France.
References
External links
★
Local websites by region
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