In France, a ''pays'' () is an area whose inhabitants share common geographical, economic, cultural, or social interests, who have a right to enter into communal planning contracts under a
law known as the Loi Pasqua or LOADT (''Loi d'Orientation pour l'Aménagement et le Développement du Territoire''; en, Directive law concerning territorial planning and development), which took effect on February 4, 1995.
It was augmented on June 25, 1999, by the Loi Voynet or LOADDT (''Loi d'Orientation de l'Aménagement Durable du Territoire''). The LOADDT enables the citizens of a community to form a legally recognized ''pays'' after deciding to do so by mutual consent; its aim is to help bring the inhabitants of urban and neighboring rural districts into dialogue and agreement.
The Council of Development in each ''pays'' assembles together the elected officials and the economic, social, and cultural actors, and their associates, into a deliberative forum to discuss the development policies which should be followed by the community. While the Council can give advice, submit proposals, and monitor development projects, it does not have the authority to make official decisions.
The Charter of the ''Pays'' makes it possible to fix the stakes and the objectives of the community. Few structures are recognized as ''pays Voynet'', meaning nationwide, because the recognition criteria are sometimes far from what the ''pays'' are. Then again, several ''pays'' are recognized by the Commission Régionale d'aménagement et de développement du Territoire.
Sense of the word
In France, the contract of the ''Pays'' can be signed among the members of the ''pays'', or between the ''pays'' and its surrounding area, the
department
Department may refer to:
* Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility
Government and military
*Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...
, the
region, or with the national state when the stakes are well-identified.
In this context, the
French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
term ''pays'' is not used in the modern sense of "
country" but preserves the original meaning of the
Latin word from which it was derived, ''
pagus'', which designated the territory controlled by a
medieval count. The majority of ''pays'' are roughly coextensive with the old counties (e.g., county of
Comminges
The Comminges (; Occitan/ Gascon: ''Comenge'') is an ancient region of southern France in the foothills of the Pyrenees, corresponding closely to the arrondissement of Saint-Gaudens in the department of Haute-Garonne. This natural region is norma ...
, county of
Ponthieu, etc). Today ''Pays de France'' still refers to a tiny area in northwest
Ile-de-France, hence city names such as ''Roissy-en-France'' or ''Tremblay-en-France''.
Although this word is frequently translated into English as ''country,'' its usage can mean ''a region or territory of a nation (bounded by borders and constituting a geographical entity) considered from the point of view of a certain identity or community of interest of its inhabitants''. However, this usage is also sometimes found in English word ''country'' , for example for the
constituent countries of the United Kingdom. It is held to be ''the geographical basis of the state''.
The word is also used less precisely as an alternative for ''état'' (state).
''Pays'' of Brittany
Brittany, consisting of 4 departments, is also subdivided into 21 ''pays''.
* pays de
Brest
* pays de
Cornouaille
* pays du
Centre-Ouest de Bretagne
Centre-Ouest is one of Burkina Faso's 13 administrative regions. The population of Centre-Ouest was 1,659,339 in 2019. The region's capital is Koudougou. Four provinces ( Boulkiemdé, Sanguié, Sissili, and Ziro) make up the region.
As of 2019, ...
* pays de
Morlaix
* Pays de
Trégor-Goélo
* pays de
Guingamp
* pays de
Saint-Brieuc
Saint-Brieuc (, Breton: ''Sant-Brieg'' , Gallo: ''Saent-Berioec'') is a city in the Côtes-d'Armor department in Brittany in northwestern France.
History
Saint-Brieuc is named after a Welsh monk Brioc, who Christianised the region in the 6th c ...
* pays de
Centre-Bretagne
* pays de
Pontivy
* pays de
Lorient
* pays d'
Auray
Auray (; br, An Alre, or simply ) is a commune in the Morbihan department, administrative region of Brittany, northwestern France.
Inhabitants of Auray are called ''Alréens'' (French) and ''Alreiz'' (Breton).
Geography
The city is surrounde ...
* pays de
Vannes
* pays de
Ploërmel-Coeur de Bretagne
* pays de
Brocéliande
* pays de
Dinan
* pays de
Saint-Malo
* pays de
Fougères
* pays de
Rennes
Rennes (; br, Roazhon ; Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in northwestern France at the confluence of the Ille and the Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the region of Brittany, as well as the Ille-et-Vilaine department ...
* Pays de
Vitré-Porte de Bretagne
* pays es
Vallons de Vilaine
* pays de
Redon et Vilaine
Redon (; ) is a commune in the Ille-et-Vilaine department in Brittany in northwestern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department.
Geography
Redon borders the Morbihan and Loire-Atlantique departments.
It is situated at the junction of th ...
, note this ''pays'' straddles 3 departments, including one located outside Brittany, the
Loire Atlantique.
''Pays'' of Franche-Comté
La
Franche-Comté
Franche-Comté (, ; ; Frainc-Comtou: ''Fraintche-Comtè''; frp, Franche-Comtât; also german: Freigrafschaft; es, Franco Condado; all ) is a cultural and historical region of eastern France. It is composed of the modern departments of Doubs, ...
, consisting of 4 departments, is also subdivided into 16 pays :
* pays de
l'Aire Urbaine (Belfort-Montbéliard-Héricourt-Delle )
* pays du
Doubs Central
* pays du
Haut-Doubs
* pays
Horloger
* pays de
Loue Lison
The Loue () is a river of eastern France, a left tributary of the Doubs, which it joins downstream of Dole. It is long. Its source is a karst spring in the Jura mountains near Ouhans, which at least partly receives its water from the Doubs. Thi ...
* pays de
Pierrefontaine Les Varans
* pays des
Vosges Saônoises
The Vosges ( , ; german: Vogesen ; Franconian (linguistics), Franconian and gsw, Vogese) are a range of low mountains in Eastern France, near its France–Germany border, border with Germany. Together with the Palatine Forest to the north on t ...
* pays
Dolois
* pays du
Haut Revermont
Haut may refer to:
* ''Haut'' (newspaper), a newspaper published in Luxembourg
{{disambiguation ...
* pays de la
Haute Vallée de l'Ain
Haute may refer to:
People
* Nicholas Haute (1357 – c.1415), English knight, landowner and politician
** William Haute (MP) (1390-1462), son of Nicholas, Member of Parliament, English politician
** William Hawte or Haute (c. 1430 - 1497), son of ...
* pays des
Lacs et de Petite Montagne
* pays
Lédonien
* pays du
Haut Jura
* pays
Graylois
* pays des
Sept Rivières
A sept is a division of a family, especially of a Scottish or Irish family. The term is used in both Scotland and Ireland, where it may be translated as ''sliocht'', meaning "progeny" or "seed", which may indicate the descendants of a person ( ...
* pays de
Vesoul et du Val de Saône
Vesoul () is a commune in the Haute-Saône department in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté located in eastern France.
It is the most populated municipality of the department with inhabitants in 2014. The same year, the Communauté d'agglomà ...
See also
*
Pays d'outre mer
Overseas country (french: Pays d'outre-mer) is the designation for the overseas collectivity of French Polynesia. French Polynesia was an overseas territory until the constitutional reform on 28 March 2003 created the overseas collectivities. ...
*
Pays-d'en-Haut (disambiguation)
*
Pays des Illinois
The Illinois Country (french: Pays des Illinois ; , i.e. the Illinois people)—sometimes referred to as Upper Louisiana (french: Haute-Louisiane ; es, Alta Luisiana)—was a vast region of New France claimed in the 1600s in what is n ...
References
{{Reflist
Politics of France
Government of France
Former subdivisions of France
Geographical, historical and cultural regions of France