(Redirected from Départements of France)
'Departments' (
IPA: ) are administrative units of
France and many former French colonies, roughly analogous to English
counties. The 100 French departments are now grouped into 22
metropolitan and four
overseas regions. All regions have identical legal status as integral parts of France. They are subdivided into 342
arrondissements.
General characteristics
In continental France (
metropolitan France excluding
Corsica), the
median land area of a department is 5,965
km² (2,303
square miles), which is two-and-a-half times the median land area of a
ceremonial county of
England, and a little more than three-and-half times the median land area of a
county in the
United States.
At the
1999 census, the median population of a department in continental France was 511,012 inhabitants, which is 21 times the median population of a U.S. county, but just a little less than two-thirds of the median population of a ceremonial county of England.
The ''chef-lieu de département'' normally lies at the geographical centre of the ''département''. This was determined according to the time taken to travel on horseback from the periphery of the ''département''. The goal was for the ''chef-lieu'' to be accessible from any town in the ''département'' on horseback within 24 hours.
Administrative role
Each ''département'' is administered by a
''conseil général'' (general council) elected for six years, and its executive is, since 1982, headed by the president of that council (formerly it was headed by the
prefect).
The
French national government is represented in the ''département'' by a prefect appointed by the national executive (the
President or the
Prime Minister). The prefect is assisted by one or more sub-prefects based in district centres outside the capital of the ''département''.
The center of administration of a ''département'' is called a
''préfecture'' (prefecture) or ''chef-lieu de département''. ''Départements'' are divided into one to seven
arrondissements. The capital city of an arrondissement is called the
''sous-préfecture'' (subprefecture) or ''chef-lieu d'arrondissement''. The public official in charge is called the ''sous-préfet'' (sub-prefect).
The ''départements'' are also further divided into
communes, governed by
municipal councils. France (as of 1999) has 36,779 communes.
Most of the ''départements'' have an area of around 4,000–8,000 km² and a population between 250,000 and one million. The largest in terms of area is
Gironde (10,000 km²) and the smallest the city of
Paris (105 km²). The most populous is
Nord (2,550,000) and the least populous
Lozère (74,000). See also:
List of French departments by population
The ''départements'' are numbered: their two-digit numbers appear in
postal codes, in
INSEE codes (including "social security numbers") and on vehicle number-plates. This final usage will mostly disappear with a new car plate scheme due for 2008 (for details see
French vehicle registration plates.
Note that there is no number 20, but 2A and 2B instead. Note also that the two-digit code "98" is used by
Monaco. Together with the
ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 country code FR the numbers form the
ISO 3166-2 country subdivision codes for the metropolitan ''départements''. The overseas ''départements'' get two letters for the ISO 3166-2 code, e.g. 971 for Guadeloupe (see table below).
History
Departments were created on
January 4,
1790 by the
Constituent Assembly to replace the country's former
provinces with a more rational structure. They were also designed to deliberately break up France's historical regions in an attempt to erase cultural differences and build a more homogeneous nation. Most departments are named after the area's principal river(s) or other physical features.
The number of departments, initially 83, increased to 130 by
1810 with the territorial gains of the Republic and of the
Empire (see
Provinces of the Netherlands for the
annexed Dutch departements), but they were reduced to 86 following
Napoleon's defeats in
1814-
1815, as the
Congress of Vienna returned France to its pre-war size; the total was 86 as three of the original departments had been split in the meantime. In
1860, France acquired the
Comté de Nice and
Savoy, which led to the creation of three new departments: two from the new Savoyard territory, while the department of
Alpes-Maritimes was created from Nice and a portion of the
Var department. The 89 departments were given numbers, based on their alphabetical order.
Three departments in
Alsace-Lorraine (
Haut-Rhin,
Bas-Rhin, and
Moselle) were ceded to the
German Empire in
1871, following France's defeat in the
Franco-Prussian War. A small part of the department of Haut-Rhin, called the
Territoire de Belfort, was detached from the rest of Alsace-Lorraine and remained French. In
1919, following
World War I, France regained Alsace-Lorraine. Territoire de Belfort was not reintegrated into Haut-Rhin, but was instead made a full-status department in
1922, becoming the 90th department of France.
Reorganisations of the
Paris region (
1968) and the division of
Corsica (
1975) have added a further six departments, raising the total to one hundred — including the four
overseas departments of Guyane (
French Guiana) in
South America,
Guadeloupe and
Martinique in the
Lesser Antilles, and
Réunion in the
Indian Ocean.
Map and list of departments
French regions and departments

Departments and Regions of France
Notes:
# The number 75 was formerly assigned to
Seine
# The number 78 was formerly assigned to
Seine-et-Oise
# The number 91 was formerly assigned to
Alger, in
French Algeria
# The number 92 was formerly assigned to
Oran, in French Algeria
# The number 93 was formerly assigned to
Constantine, in French Algeria
# The prefecture of
Val-d'Oise was established in
Pontoise when the department was created, but moved ''de facto'' to the neighbouring commune of
Cergy; currently, both form the ''ville nouvelle'' of
Cergy-Pontoise.
# The '
overseas departments' are former colonies outside France that now enjoy a status identical to ''metropolitan'' France. They 'are part of France and of the
EU', though
special EU rules apply. Each of them constitutes a
region at the same time.
Former departments
On the current territory of France
| Department | Prefecture | Dates in existence | Notes |
|---|
| Rhône-et-Loire | Lyon | 1790–1793 | Split into  Coat of arms of Rhône Rhône and  Coat of arms of Loire Loire on August 12 1793. |
|---|
| Corse | Bastia | 1790–1793 | Split into Golo and Liamone. |
|---|
| Golo | Bastia | 1793–1811 | Reunited with Liamone into  Coat of arms of the département of Corse Corse. |
|---|
| Liamone | Ajaccio | 1793–1811 | Reunited with Golo into  Coat of arms of the département of Corse Corse. |
|---|
| Mont-Blanc | Chambéry | 1792–1815 | Formed from part of the  Flag of the Duchy of Savoy Duchy of Savoy, a territory of the  Coat of arms of the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia and was restored to Piedmont-Sardinia after Napoleon's defeat. The département corresponds approximately with the present French départements  Coat of arms of the département of Savoie Savoie and  Coat of arms of the département of Haute-Savoie Haute-Savoie. |
|---|
| Léman | Geneva | 1798–1814 | Formed when the  Coat of arms of Geneva Republic of Geneva was annexed into the First French Empire. Léman became the Swiss canton the  Coat of arms of Geneva Republic and Canton of Geneva. The département corresponds with the present Swiss canton and parts of the present French départements  Coat of arms of the département of Ain Ain and  Coat of arms of the département of Haute-Savoie Haute-Savoie. |
|---|
| Meurthe | Nancy | 1790–1871 | Meurthe ceased to exist following the annexation of Alsace-Lorraine by the  Flag of the German Empire German Empire in 1871 and was not recreated after the province was restored to France by the Treaty of Versailles. |
|---|
| Seine | Paris | 1790–1967 | On January 1 1968, Seine was divided into four new départements:  Coat of arms of the département of Paris Paris,  Coat of arms of the département of Hauts-de-Seine Hauts-de-Seine,  Coat of arms of the département of Seine-Saint-Denis Seine-Saint-Denis and  Coat of arms of the département of Val-de-Marne Val-de-Marne, gaining territory from Seine-et-Oise in the process. |
|---|
| Seine-et-Oise | Versailles | 1790–1967 | On January 1 1968, Seine-et-Oise was divided into three new départements:  Coat of arms of the département of Yvelines Yvelines,  Coat of arms of the département of Val-d'Oise Val-d'Oise and  Coat of arms of the département of Essonne Essonne, with some territory lost to Seine in the process. |
|---|
| Corse | Ajaccio | 1811–1975 | On September 15 1975, Corse was redivided in twain, to form  Coat of arms of the département of Corse Corse-du-Sud and  Coat of arms of the département of Corse Haute-Corse. |
|---|
| Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon | Saint-Pierre | 1976–1985 |  Unofficial flag of Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon was an overseas department from 1976 until it was converted to an overseas collectivity on June 11 1985. |
|---|
Name changes
A few departments have changed names, in most cases, to lose the terms "lower" and "inferior":
French Algeria
Before 1957
1957–1962
In the former colonies of France
Napoleonic Empire
There are a number of former departments in territories conquered by France during the
French Revolution and
Napoleonic Empire that are now not part of France: