An agglomeration community (french: communauté d'agglomération) is a government structure in
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
, created by the Chevènement Law of 1999. It is one of four forms of
intercommunality
The () is a level of administrative division in the French Republic. French are analogous to civil townships and incorporated municipalities in the United States and Canada, ' in Germany, ' in Italy, or ' in Spain. The United Kingdom's equiv ...
, less integrated than a
métropole
A ''métropole'' (French for "metropolis") is an administrative entity in France, in which several communes cooperate, and which has the right to levy local tax, an ''établissement public de coopération intercommunale à fiscalité propre''. I ...
or a
communauté urbaine
Communauté urbaine (French for "urban community") is the second most integrated form of intercommunality in France, after the ''Metropolis'' (french: link=no, métropole). A ''communauté urbaine'' is composed of a city ( commune) and its indep ...
but more integrated than a
communauté de communes
A ''communauté de communes'' (, "community of communes") is a federation of municipalities (communes) in France. It forms a framework within which local tasks are carried out together. It is the least-integrated form of ''intercommunalité'' (in ...
. Agglomeration communities consist of a
commune
A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to:
Administrative-territorial entities
* Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township
** Communes of ...
of at least 15,000 inhabitants (or a prefecture with less than 15,000 inhabitants) and its independent suburbs.
As of March 2020, there are 222 agglomeration communities in France (207 in
metropolitan France
Metropolitan France (french: France métropolitaine or ''la Métropole''), also known as European France (french: Territoire européen de la France) is the area of France which is geographically in Europe. This collective name for the European ...
and 15 in the overseas departments).BANATIC France, Liste des groupements. Accessed 2020-03-19. The population (as of 2017) of the agglomeration communities ranges from 355,650 inhabitants ( CA Grand Paris Sud Seine-Essonne-Sénart) to 29,289 inhabitants ( CA Grand Verdun).
Several former communautés d'agglomération have been converted into communautés urbaines or métropoles, for instance those of
Strasbourg
Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...