Administrative divisions of France Guide, Meaning , Facts, Information and Description
Metropolitan (i.e. European) France)
As of January 1, 2004, metropolitan France is divided into:
- 22 régions (although strictly speaking Corsica is in fact a territorial collectivity, not a region, but is referred to as a region in common speech)
- the régions are divided into 96 départements
- the départements are divided into 329 arrondissements
- the arrondissements are divided into 3,879 cantonss
- the cantons are divided into 36,568 communes
Overseas
The French Republic is further made up of the following overseas divisions:
- 4 overseas regions (régions d'outre-mer): 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), each of these overseas regions also being an overseas département (département d'outre-mer, or DOM), with the same status as a département of metropolitan France. This double structure (region/département) is new, due to the recent extension of the regional scheme to the overseas départements, and may soon transform into a single structure, with the merger of the regional and departmental assemblies, unless new départements are created such as in the case of Réunion, where it has been proposed to create a second département in the south of the island, with the region of Réunion above these two départements.
- these DOM are divided into 13 arrondissements
- these 13 arrondissements are divided into 156 cantonss
- these 156 cantons make up 114 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)
- 3 overseas collectivities (collectivités d'outre-mer): Saint-Pierre and Miquelon, Wallis and Futuna, and Mayotte (although strictly speaking Mayotte is in fact a "departmental collectivity", not an overseas collectivity, with the possibility to become a full-status French département in 2010, but for the sake of clarity it is most often classified as overseas collectivity)
- Mayotte is divided into 17 communes. No arrondissements. Cantonss are the same as communes in Mayotte.
- Saint-Pierre and Miquelon is divided into 2 communes. No arrondissements, no cantonss.
- 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. No arrondissements, no cantonss. Wallis and Futuna is also the only permanently inhabited territory of the French Republic with no communes.
- 1 sui generis collectivity ( collectivité sui generis): New Caledonia, whose status is unique in the French Republic
- New Caledonia is divided into 3 provinces
- the provinces are divided into 33 communes
- 1 overseas "country" (pays d'outre-mer): French Polynesia
- French Polynesia is divided into 5 administrative subdivisions (subdivisions administratives)
- the administrative subdivisions are divided into 48 communes
- 1 overseas territory (territoire d'outre-mer, or TOM): the French Southern and Antarctic Lands
- the French Southern and Antarctic Lands are divided into 4 districts (districts in French): 1- Kerguelen Islands, 2- Crozet Islands, 3- Amsterdam Island and Saint Paul Island, and 4- Adelie Land (Terre Adélie), although sovereignty over Adelie Land in Antarctica is suspended since the signing of the Antarctic Treaty in 1959. No permanent population, no communes.
- a collection of five islands in the Indian Ocean with no permanent population and known as Îles Éparses ("Scattered Islands"), which are administered by the prefect of the département of Réunion: Bassas da India, Europa, Juan de Nova, Glorioso, and Tromelin.
- 1 uninhabited island in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Mexico which is administered by the high-commissioner of the French Republic in French Polynesia: Clipperton.
See also:
- Communauté d'agglomération
- Communauté urbaine
- List of fifteen largest French metropolitan areas by population
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