France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
is
divided into eighteen administrative regions (french: régions, singular ), of which thirteen are located in
metropolitan France (in
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...
), while the other five are
overseas regions (not to be confused with the
overseas collectivities, which have a semi-autonomous status).
All of the thirteen metropolitan administrative regions (including
Corsica ) are further subdivided into two to thirteen administrative
departments, with the
prefect of each region's administrative centre's department also acting as the regional prefect. The overseas regions administratively consist of only one department each and hence also have the status of overseas departments.
Most administrative regions also have the status of regional
territorial collectivities, which comes with a
local government
Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-l ...
, with departmental and communal collectivities below the region level. The exceptions are
Corsica,
French Guiana,
Mayotte and
Martinique, where region and department functions are managed by single local governments having consolidated jurisdiction and which are known as
single territorial collectivities.
History
1982–2015
The term was officially created by the
Law of Decentralisation (2 March 1982), which also gave regions their legal status. The first direct elections for regional representatives took place on 16 March 1986.
Between 1982 and 2015, there were 22 regions in Metropolitan France. Before 2011, there were four
overseas regions (
French Guiana,
Guadeloupe,
Martinique, and
Réunion); in 2011
Mayotte became the fifth.
}
,
Strasbourg
, align=center, 42
, Formerly a
coalition of free cities in
Holy Roman Empire, attached to
Kingdom of France
The Kingdom of France ( fro, Reaume de France; frm, Royaulme de France; french: link=yes, Royaume de France) is the historiographical name or umbrella term given to various political entities of France in the medieval and early modern period ...
in 1648; annexed by Germany from
Franco-Prussian war to the end of
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
and briefly during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, -
,
Aquitaine
Aquitaine ( , , ; oc, Aquitània ; eu, Akitania; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Aguiéne''), archaic Guyenne or Guienne ( oc, Guiana), is a historical region of southwestern France and a former administrative region of the country. Since 1 Janu ...
,
, oc, Aquitània
eu, Akitania
Saintongeais : ''Aguiéne''
,
Bordeaux
Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefect ...
, align=center, 72
,
Guyenne
Guyenne or Guienne (, ; oc, Guiana ) was an old French province which corresponded roughly to the Roman province of '' Aquitania Secunda'' and the archdiocese of Bordeaux.
The name "Guyenne" comes from ''Aguyenne'', a popular transformation o ...
and
Gascony
, -
,
Auvergne
,
, oc, Auvèrnhe / Auvèrnha
,
Clermont-Ferrand
, align=center, 83
, Former
province of Auvergne
, -
,
Brittany
Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period ...
,
, br, Breizh
Gallo:
,
Rennes
, align=center, 53
,
Duchy of Brittany
, -
,
Burgundy
,
,
Burgundian: ''Bregogne'Borgoégne''
frp, Borgogne
,
Dijon
, align=center, 26
,
Duchy of Burgundy
The Duchy of Burgundy (; la, Ducatus Burgundiae; french: Duché de Bourgogne, ) emerged in the 9th century as one of the successors of the ancient Kingdom of the Burgundians, which after its conquest in 532 had formed a constituent part of the ...
, -
,
Centre-Val de Loire[New name as of 17 January 2015; formerly named .]
,
,
,
Orléans
, align=center, 24
, Located in
north-central France; straddles the middle of the
Loire Valley
, -
,
Champagne-Ardenne
,
,
,
Châlons-en-
Champagne
, align=center, 21
, Former
province of Champagne
, -
,
Corsica
,
,
,
Ajaccio
, align=center, 94
,
, -
,
Franche-Comté
,
,
Franc-Comtois: ''Fràntche-Comté''
frp, Franche-Comtât
,
Besançon
Besançon (, , , ; archaic german: Bisanz; la, Vesontio) is the prefecture of the department of Doubs in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. The city is located in Eastern France, close to the Jura Mountains and the border with Switzer ...
, align=center, 43
,
Free County of Burgundy (''Franche-Comté'')
, -
,
Île-de-France
,
,
,
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
, align=center, 11
,
Province of Île-de-France and parts of the former
province of Champagne
, -
,
Languedoc-Roussillon
Languedoc-Roussillon (; oc, Lengadòc-Rosselhon ; ca, Llenguadoc-Rosselló) is a former administrative region of France. On 1 January 2016, it joined with the region of Midi-Pyrénées to become Occitania. It comprised five departments, and b ...
,
, oc, Lengadòc-Rosselhon
ca, Llenguadoc-Rosselló
,
Montpellier
, align=center, 91
, Former provinces of
Languedoc and
Roussillon
, -
,
Limousin
Limousin (; oc, Lemosin ) is a former administrative region of southwest-central France. On 1 January 2016, it became part of the new administrative region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. It comprised three departments: Corrèze, Creuse, and Haute-Vienn ...
,
, oc, Lemosin
,
Limoges
, align=center, 74
, Former
province of Limousin and parts of
Marche,
Berry,
Auvergne,
Poitou
Poitou (, , ; ; Poitevin: ''Poetou'') was a province of west-central France whose capital city was Poitiers. Both Poitou and Poitiers are named after the Pictones Gallic tribe.
Geography
The main historical cities are Poitiers (historical c ...
and
Angoumois
, -
,
Lorraine
Lorraine , also , , ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; german: Lothringen ; lb, Loutrengen; nl, Lotharingen is a cultural and historical region in Northeastern France, now located in the administrative region of Gra ...
,
, german: Lothringen
Lorraine Franconian:
,
Metz
Metz ( , , lat, Divodurum Mediomatricorum, then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers. Metz is the prefecture of the Moselle department and the seat of the parliament of the Grand ...
, align=center, 41
, Named for
Charlemagne
Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first ...
's son
Lothair I, the kingdom of
Lotharingia
Lotharingia ( la, regnum Lotharii regnum Lothariense Lotharingia; french: Lotharingie; german: Reich des Lothar Lotharingien Mittelreich; nl, Lotharingen) was a short-lived medieval successor kingdom of the Carolingian Empire. As a more durable ...
is etymologically the source for the name
Lorraine (duchy)
The Duchy of Lorraine (french: Lorraine ; german: Lothringen ), originally Upper Lorraine, was a duchy now included in the larger present-day region of Lorraine in northeastern France. Its capital was Nancy.
It was founded in 959 following th ...
, , (
Lorraine Franconian)
, -
,
Lower Normandy
Lower Normandy (french: Basse-Normandie, ; nrf, Basse-Normaundie) is a former administrative region of France. On 1 January 2016, Lower and Upper Normandy merged becoming one region called Normandy.
Geography
The region included three departme ...
,
,
Norman:
br, Normandi-Izel
,
Caen
, align=center, 25
, Western half of former province of
Normandy
Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...
, -
,
Midi-Pyrénées
,
, oc, Miègjorn-Pirenèus
oc, Mieidia-Pirenèus
,
Toulouse
, align=center, 73
, None; created for
Toulouse
, -
,
Nord-Pas-de-Calais
Nord-Pas-de-Calais (); pcd, Nord-Pas-Calés); is a former administrative region of France. Since 1 January 2016, it has been part of the new region Hauts-de-France. It consisted of the departments of Nord and Pas-de-Calais. Nord-Pas-de-Calais ...
,
,
,
Lille
, align=center, 31
,
Nord and
Pas-de-Calais departments
, -
,
Pays de la Loire
,
, br, Broioù al Liger
,
Nantes
, align=center, 52
, None; created for
Nantes
, -
,
Picardy
,
,
,
Amiens
, align=center, 22
, Former province of Picardy
, -
,
Poitou-Charentes
Poitou-Charentes (; oc, Peitau-Charantas; Poitevin-Saintongese: ) is a former administrative region on the southwest coast of France. It is part of the new region Nouvelle-Aquitaine. It comprises four departments: Charente, Charente-Maritime, D ...
,
, oc, Peitau-Charantas
Poitevin and
Saintongeais : ''Poetou-Chérentes''
,
Poitiers
, align=center, 54
, Former provinces of
Angoumois,
Aunis
Aunis () is a historical province of France, situated in the north-west of the department of Charente-Maritime. Its historic capital is La Rochelle, which took over from Castrum Allionis (Châtelaillon) the historic capital which gives its name ...
,
Poitou
Poitou (, , ; ; Poitevin: ''Poetou'') was a province of west-central France whose capital city was Poitiers. Both Poitou and Poitiers are named after the Pictones Gallic tribe.
Geography
The main historical cities are Poitiers (historical c ...
and
Saintonge
, -
,
Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (PACA)
, (PACA)
, style="white-space:nowrap;",
Provençal:
()
,
Marseille
, align=center, 93
, Former historical province of
Provence and
County of Nice
The County of Nice (french: Comté de Nice / Pays Niçois, it, Contea di Nizza/Paese Nizzardo, Niçard oc, Contèa de Niça/País Niçard) is a historical region of France located around the southeastern city of Nice and roughly equivalent t ...
annexed by France in 1860.
, -
,
Rhône-Alpes
,
, frp, Rôno-Arpes
oc, Ròse Aups
,
Lyon
Lyon,, ; Occitan language, Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, third-largest city and Urban area (France), second-largest metropolitan area of F ...
, align=center, 82
, Created for
Lyon
Lyon,, ; Occitan language, Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, third-largest city and Urban area (France), second-largest metropolitan area of F ...
from
Dauphiné
The Dauphiné (, ) is a former province in Southeastern France, whose area roughly corresponded to that of the present departments of Isère, Drôme and Hautes-Alpes. The Dauphiné was originally the Dauphiné of Viennois.
In the 12th centu ...
and
Lyonnais provinces and
Savoy
, -
,
Upper Normandy
Upper Normandy (french: Haute-Normandie, ; nrf, Ĥâote-Normaundie) is a former administrative region of France. On 1 January 2016, Upper and Lower Normandy merged becoming one region called Normandy.
History
It was created in 1956 from two d ...
,
,
Norman:
br, Normandi-Uhel
,
Rouen
, align=center, 23
, Eastern half of former province of
Normandy
Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...
Reform and mergers of regions
In 2014, the French parliament passed a law reducing the number of metropolitan regions from 22 to 13 effective 1 January 2016.
The law gave interim names for most of the new regions by combining the names of the former regions, e.g. the region composed of
Aquitaine
Aquitaine ( , , ; oc, Aquitània ; eu, Akitania; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Aguiéne''), archaic Guyenne or Guienne ( oc, Guiana), is a historical region of southwestern France and a former administrative region of the country. Since 1 Janu ...
,
Poitou-Charentes
Poitou-Charentes (; oc, Peitau-Charantas; Poitevin-Saintongese: ) is a former administrative region on the southwest coast of France. It is part of the new region Nouvelle-Aquitaine. It comprises four departments: Charente, Charente-Maritime, D ...
and
Limousin
Limousin (; oc, Lemosin ) is a former administrative region of southwest-central France. On 1 January 2016, it became part of the new administrative region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. It comprised three departments: Corrèze, Creuse, and Haute-Vienn ...
was temporarily called ''Aquitaine-Limousin-Poitou-Charentes''. However, the combined region of Upper and Lower Normandy is simply called "Normandy" (''Normandie''). Permanent names were proposed by the new regional councils by 1 July 2016 and new names confirmed by the
Conseil d'État by 30 September 2016. The legislation defining the new regions also allowed the Centre region to officially change its name to "
Centre-Val de Loire" with effect from January 2015.
Two regions,
Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and
Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, opted to retain their interim names.
File:France proposal regions (2009) map.svg , Édouard Balladur
Édouard Balladur (; born 2 May 1929) is a French politician who served as Prime Minister of France under François Mitterrand from 29 March 1993 to 17 May 1995. He unsuccessfully ran for president in the 1995 French presidential election, c ...
's proposal
File:France proposal regions (2014) map.svg , Manuel Valls
Manuel Carlos Valls Galfetti (, , ; born 13 August 1962) is a French-Spanish politician who has served as a Barcelona city councillor from 2019 to 2021. He served as Prime Minister of France from 2014 until 2016 under president François Hol ...
's proposal A
File:France proposal regions (2014) map2.svg, Manuel Valls
Manuel Carlos Valls Galfetti (, , ; born 13 August 1962) is a French-Spanish politician who has served as a Barcelona city councillor from 2019 to 2021. He served as Prime Minister of France from 2014 until 2016 under president François Hol ...
's proposal B
File:France proposal regions (2014) map3.svg, President François Hollande's proposal
File:France assembly vote.svg, Regions as instituted by the National Assembly in 2014
Given below is a table of former regions and which new region they became part of.
List of administrative regions
}
frp, Ôvèrgne-Rôno-Arpes
,
Lyon
Lyon,, ; Occitan language, Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, third-largest city and Urban area (France), second-largest metropolitan area of F ...
, align="right" , 69,711
,
, 204
, align="center" , 84
,
Auvergne Rhône-Alpes
,
Laurent Wauquiez (
LR)
,
, -
, bgcolor="lightgray" , Metropolitan
,
Bourgogne-Franche-Comté(Burgundy-Free County)
, frp, Borgogne-Franche-Comtât
,
Dijon
, align="right" , 47,784
,
, 100
, align="center" , 27
,
Burgundy Franche-Comté
,
Marie-Guite Dufay (
PS)
,
, -
, bgcolor="lightgray" , Metropolitan
,
Bretagne(Brittany)
, br, Breizh
Gallo: ''Bertaèyn''
,
Rennes
, align="right" , 27,208
,
, 83
, align="center" , 53
, ''unchanged''
,
Loïg Chesnais-Girard (
PS)
,
, -
, bgcolor="lightgray" , Metropolitan
,
Centre-Val de Loire(Centre-Loire Valley)
,
,
Orléans
, align="right" , 39,151
,
, 77
, align="center" , 24
, ''unchanged''
,
François Bonneau (
PS)
,
, -
, bgcolor="lightgray" , Metropolitan
,
Corse
Corsica ( , Upper , Southern ; it, Corsica; ; french: Corse ; lij, Còrsega; sc, Còssiga) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the Regions of France, 18 regions of France. It is the fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and ...
(Corsica)
, co, Corsica
,
Ajaccio
, align="right" , 8,680
,
, 63
, align="center" , 94
, ''unchanged''
,
Jean-Guy Talamoni (CL)
,
, -
, bgcolor="lightgray" , Metropolitan
,
Grand Est(Great East)
, german: Großer Osten
,
Strasbourg
, align="right" , 57,441
,
, 169
, align="center" , 44
,
Alsace Champagne-ArdenneLorraine
Lorraine , also , , ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; german: Lothringen ; lb, Loutrengen; nl, Lotharingen is a cultural and historical region in Northeastern France, now located in the administrative region of Gra ...
,
Jean Rottner
Jean Rottner (born 28 January 1967) is a French politician of the political party The Republicans who was mayor of Mulhouse from 2010 to 2017, and has been President of the regional council of Grand Est since 2017.
Born as a son of teachers, J ...
(
LR)
,
, -
, bgcolor="lightgray" , Metropolitan
,
Hauts-de-France(Upper France)
,
,
Lille
, align="right" , 31,806
,
, 170
, align="center" , 32
,
Nord-Pas-de-Calais
Nord-Pas-de-Calais (); pcd, Nord-Pas-Calés); is a former administrative region of France. Since 1 January 2016, it has been part of the new region Hauts-de-France. It consisted of the departments of Nord and Pas-de-Calais. Nord-Pas-de-Calais ...
Picardy
,
Xavier Bertrand
Xavier Bertrand (; born 21 March 1965) is a French politician who has been serving as president of the regional council of Hauts-de-France since the 2015 regional elections.
Earlier in his career, Bertrand was Minister of Health from 2005 to ...
(
LR)
,
, -
, bgcolor="lightgray" , Metropolitan
,
Île-de-France(Island of France)
, br, Enez-Frañs
,
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
, align="right" , 12,011
,
, 209
, align="center" , 11
, ''unchanged''
,
Valérie Pécresse (
LR)
,
, -
, bgcolor="lightgray" , Metropolitan
,
Normandie(Normandy)
,
Norman: ''Normaundie''
br, Normandi
,
Rouen
, align="right" , 29,907
,
, 102
, align="center" , 28
,
Upper Normandy
Upper Normandy (french: Haute-Normandie, ; nrf, Ĥâote-Normaundie) is a former administrative region of France. On 1 January 2016, Upper and Lower Normandy merged becoming one region called Normandy.
History
It was created in 1956 from two d ...
Lower Normandy
Lower Normandy (french: Basse-Normandie, ; nrf, Basse-Normaundie) is a former administrative region of France. On 1 January 2016, Lower and Upper Normandy merged becoming one region called Normandy.
Geography
The region included three departme ...
,
Hervé Morin
Hervé Morin (born 17 August 1961) is a French politician of the Centrists who has been serving as the first President of the Regional Council of Normandy since January 2016. Under President Nicolas Sarkozy, he was the Minister of Defence.
Po ...
(
LC)
,
, -
, bgcolor="lightgray" , Metropolitan
,
Nouvelle-Aquitaine(New Aquitaine)
, oc, Nòva Aquitània / Nava Aquitània / Novela Aquitània
eu, Akitania Berria
,
Bordeaux
Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefect ...
, align="right" , 84,036
,
, 183
, align="center" , 75
,
Aquitaine
Aquitaine ( , , ; oc, Aquitània ; eu, Akitania; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Aguiéne''), archaic Guyenne or Guienne ( oc, Guiana), is a historical region of southwestern France and a former administrative region of the country. Since 1 Janu ...
Limousin
Limousin (; oc, Lemosin ) is a former administrative region of southwest-central France. On 1 January 2016, it became part of the new administrative region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. It comprised three departments: Corrèze, Creuse, and Haute-Vienn ...
Poitou-Charentes
Poitou-Charentes (; oc, Peitau-Charantas; Poitevin-Saintongese: ) is a former administrative region on the southwest coast of France. It is part of the new region Nouvelle-Aquitaine. It comprises four departments: Charente, Charente-Maritime, D ...
,
Alain Rousset (
PS)
,
, -
, bgcolor="lightgray" , Metropolitan
,
Occitanie
(Occitania)
, oc, Occitània
ca, Occitània
,
Toulouse
, align="right" , 72,724
,
, 158
, align="center" , 76
,
Languedoc-Roussillon
Languedoc-Roussillon (; oc, Lengadòc-Rosselhon ; ca, Llenguadoc-Rosselló) is a former administrative region of France. On 1 January 2016, it joined with the region of Midi-Pyrénées to become Occitania. It comprised five departments, and b ...
Midi-Pyrénées
,
Carole Delga (
PS)
,
, -
, bgcolor="lightgray" , Metropolitan
,
Pays de la Loire(Loire Countries)
, br, Broioù al Liger
,
Nantes
, align="right" , 32,082
,
, 93
, align="center" , 52
, ''unchanged''
,
Christelle Morançais (
LR)
,
, -
, bgcolor="lightgray" , Metropolitan
,
Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur(Provence-Alps-Azure Coast)
,
Provençal: ''Provença-Aups-Còsta d'Azur''
(''Prouvènço-Aup-Costo d'Azur'')
,
Marseille
, align="right" , 31,400
,
, 123
, align="center" , 93
, ''unchanged''
,
Renaud Muselier (
LR)
,
, -
, bgcolor="cyan" ,
Overseas
,
Guadeloupe
,
Antillean Creole
Antillean Creole (Antillean French Creole, Kreyol, Kwéyòl, Patois) is a French-based creole that is primarily spoken in the Lesser Antilles. Its grammar and vocabulary include elements of Carib, English, and African languages.
Antillean Creo ...
: ''Gwadloup''
,
Basse-Terre
Basse-Terre (, ; ; gcf, label=Guadeloupean Creole, Bastè, ) is a commune in the French overseas department of Guadeloupe, in the Lesser Antilles. It is also the ''prefecture'' (capital city) of Guadeloupe. The city of Basse-Terre is located o ...
, align="right" , 1,628
,
, 41
, align="center" , 01
, ''unchanged''
,
Ary Chalus
Ary Chalus (born 6 December 1961, in Pointe-à-Pitre) is a French politician from Guadeloupe. He was the mayor of Baie-Mahault from April 2001 to December 2015. He was the deputy for Guadeloupe's 3rd constituency in the National Assembly of Fr ...
(
GUSR)
,
, -
, bgcolor="cyan" , Overseas
,
Guyane
French Guiana ( or ; french: link=no, Guyane ; gcr, label=French Guianese Creole, Lagwiyann ) is an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France on the northern Atlantic coast of South America in the Guianas. It ...
(French Guiana)
,
,
Cayenne
, align="right" , 83,534
,
, 51
, align="center" , 03
, ''unchanged''
,
Rodolphe Alexandre (
PSG)
,
, -
, bgcolor="cyan" , Overseas
,
La Réunion
LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States.
La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment Music
* La (musical note), or A, the sixth note
* "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figure ...
(Réunion)
,
Reunion Creole: ''La Rényon''
,
Saint-Denis
, align="right" , 2,504
,
, 45
, align="center" , 04
, ''unchanged''
,
Didier Robert (
LR)
,
, -
, bgcolor="cyan" , Overseas
,
Martinique
,
Antillean Creole
Antillean Creole (Antillean French Creole, Kreyol, Kwéyòl, Patois) is a French-based creole that is primarily spoken in the Lesser Antilles. Its grammar and vocabulary include elements of Carib, English, and African languages.
Antillean Creo ...
: ''Matinik''
,
Fort-de-France
, align="right" , 1,128
,
, 51
, align="center" , 02
, ''unchanged''
,
Claude Lise Claude Lise (born 31 January 1941 in Fort-de-France) is a French politician from Martinique. He is a Doctor, and was first elected to public office on 24 September 1995.
He is the President of the Assembly of Martinique, which replaced both the Re ...
(RDM)
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Mayotte
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Shimaore: ''Maore''
Malagasy: ''Mahori''
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Mamoudzou
Mamoudzou (; ''Momojou'') is the capital of Mayotte, a French overseas region and department in the Indian Ocean. Mamoudzou is the most populated commune (municipality) of Mayotte. It is located on Grande-Terre (or Maoré), the main island of ...
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Soibahadine Ibrahim Ramadani (LR)
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Role
Regions lack separate legislative authority and therefore cannot write their own statutory law. They levy their own taxes and, in return, receive a decreasing part of their budget from the central government, which gives them a portion of the taxes it levies. They also have considerable budgets managed by a
regional council ''(conseil régional)'' made up of representatives voted into office in regional elections.
A region's primary responsibility is to build and furnish high schools. In March 2004, the French central government unveiled a controversial plan to transfer regulation of certain categories of non-teaching school staff to the regional authorities. Critics of this plan contended that tax revenue was insufficient to pay for the resulting costs, and that such measures would increase regional inequalities.
In addition, regions have considerable discretionary power over infrastructural spending, e.g., education, public transit, universities and research, and assistance to business owners. This has meant that the heads of wealthy regions such as
Île-de-France or
Rhône-Alpes can be high-profile positions.
Proposals to give regions limited legislative autonomy have met with considerable resistance; others propose transferring certain powers from the departments to their respective regions, leaving the former with limited authority.
Regional control
Number of regions controlled by each coalition since
1986.
Overseas regions
Overseas region (french: Région d'outre-mer) is a recent designation, given to the
overseas departments that have similar powers to those of the regions of
metropolitan France. As integral parts of the
French Republic, they are represented in the
National Assembly,
Senate and
Economic and Social Council, elect a Member of the
European Parliament
The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...
(MEP) and use the
euro as their currency.
Although these territories have had these political powers since 1982, when France's
decentralisation policy dictated that they be given elected
regional councils along with other regional powers, the designation ''overseas regions'' dates only to the 2003 constitutional change; indeed, the new wording of the constitution aims to give no precedence to either appellation ''overseas department'' or ''overseas region'', although the second is still virtually unused by French media.
The following have overseas region status:
* in the
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by t ...
(
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
):
**
Mayotte
**
Réunion
* in the
Americas
The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World.
Along with th ...
:
**
French Guiana in
South America
South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sout ...
**
Guadeloupe in the
Antilles (
Caribbean)
**
Martinique in the
Antilles (
Caribbean)
: ^
Saint Pierre and Miquelon
Saint Pierre and Miquelon (), officially the Territorial Collectivity of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon (french: link=no, Collectivité territoriale de Saint-Pierre et Miquelon ), is a self-governing territorial overseas collectivity of France in t ...
(off Canada, in North America), once an overseas department, was demoted to a
territorial collectivity
A territorial collectivity (french: collectivité territoriale, previously '), or territorial authority, is a chartered subdivision of France with recognized governing authority. It is the generic name for any subdivision (subnational entity) wi ...
in 1985.
France-Constituent-Lands.png
Outre-mer en sans Terre Adelie.png
See also
*
List of current presidents of the regional councils of France and the Corsican Assembly
*
Ranked list of French regions
*
Administrative divisions of France
*
List of French regions and overseas collectivities by GDP
This article lists French regions and overseas collectivities by gross domestic product (GDP).
Introduction
INSEE and affiliate statistical offices in the overseas collectivities produce estimates of GDP in France's 13 regions and 5 overseas c ...
*
List of French regions by Human Development Index
*
List of regions of France by population
*
Flags of the regions of France
*
ISO 3166-2:FR
General:
*
Decentralisation in France
*
Budget of France
*
Regional councils of France
*
Administrative divisions of France
; Overseas
*
Overseas France
**
Clipperton Island
Clipperton Island ( or ; ) is an uninhabited, coral atoll in the eastern Pacific Ocean. It is from Paris, France, from Papeete, Tahiti, and from Mexico. It is an overseas state private property of France under direct authority of the Minis ...
**
Overseas collectivity
The French overseas collectivities (''collectivité d'outre-mer'' or ''COM'') are first-order administrative divisions of France, like the French regions, but have a semi-autonomous status. The COMs include some former French overseas colonies ...
***
Overseas country (Outre-mer)
**
Overseas department and region
**
Overseas territory
A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, particularly belonging or connected to a country, person, or animal.
In international politics, a territory is usually either the total area from which a state may extract power resources or an ...
**
Sui generis collectivity
Overseas France (french: France d'outre-mer) consists of 13 France, French-administered territories outside Europe, mostly the remains of the French colonial empire that chose to remain a part of the French state under various statuses after ...
Notes
References
External links
*
Guide to the regions of FranceLocal websites by regionWill 2010 regional elections lead to political shake-up?Radio France Internationale in English
; Overseas regions
Ministère de l'Outre-Mer
{{Articles on first-level administrative divisions of European countries
France 1
Regions, France
Regions
In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...
Regions
In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...
Subdivisions of France
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...