Léman () was a department of the

French First Republic In the history of France, the First Republic (), sometimes referred to in historiography as Revolutionary France, and officially the French Republic (), was founded on 21 September 1792 during the French Revolution. The First Republic lasted un ...

and

French First Empire The First French Empire or French Empire (; ), also known as Napoleonic France, was the empire ruled by Napoleon Bonaparte, who established French hegemony over much of continental Europe at the beginning of the 19th century. It lasted from ...

. Its name came from the French name of

Lake Geneva Lake Geneva is a deep lake on the north side of the Alps, shared between Switzerland and France. It is one of the List of largest lakes of Europe, largest lakes in Western Europe and the largest on the course of the Rhône. Sixty percent () ...

, ''Lac Léman''. It was formed in 1798, when the

Republic of Geneva The Canton of Geneva, officially the Republic and Canton of Geneva, is one of the Cantons of Switzerland, 26 cantons of the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. It is composed of forty-five Municipality, municipalities, and the seat of the governme ...

was annexed by the French Republic. Léman also included districts that were previously part of the departments of

Mont-Blanc Mont Blanc (, ) is a mountain in the Alps, rising above sea level, located right at the France-Italy border, Franco-Italian border. It is the highest mountain in Europe outside the Caucasus Mountains, the List of European ultra-prominent peaks ...

(northern

Savoy Savoy (; )  is a cultural-historical region in the Western Alps. Situated on the cultural boundary between Occitania and Piedmont, the area extends from Lake Geneva in the north to the Dauphiné in the south and west and to the Aosta Vall ...

) and Ain (the Pays de Gex). Its territory corresponded with the present

Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...

canton of Geneva The Canton of Geneva, officially the Republic and Canton of Geneva, is one of the Cantons of Switzerland, 26 cantons of the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. It is composed of forty-five Municipality, municipalities, and the seat of the governme ...

and parts of the present French departments of Ain and

Haute-Savoie Haute-Savoie () is a Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region of Southeastern France, bordering both Switzerland and Italy. Its Prefectures in France, prefecture is Annecy. To the north is Lake Gene ...

. The

Chef-lieu An administrative centre is a seat of regional administration or local government, or a county town, or the place where the central administration of a commune, is located. In countries with French as the administrative language, such as Belgiu ...

of the department was

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

. The department was subdivided into the following three

arrondissement An arrondissement (, , ) is any of various administrative divisions of France, Belgium, Haiti, and certain other Francophone countries, as well as the Netherlands. Europe France The 101 French departments are divided into 342 ''arrondissem ...

s and

cantons A canton is a type of administrative division of a country. In general, cantons are relatively small in terms of area and population when compared with other administrative divisions such as counties, departments, or provinces. Internationally, th ...

: * Genève:

Carouge Carouge () is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the Canton of Geneva, Switzerland. History Carouge is first mentioned in the Early Middle Ages as ''Quadruvium'' and ''Quatruvio''. In 1248 it was mentioned as ''Carrogium'' while i ...

, Chêne-Thônex, Collonge, Frangy, Genève (3 cantons), Gex, Reignier and Saint-Julien. * Bonneville: Bonneville,

Chamonix Chamonix-Mont-Blanc (; ; (no longer in use)), more commonly known simply as Chamonix (), is a communes of France, commune in the departments of France, department in the regions of France, region in Southeastern France. It was the site of the f ...

Cluses Cluses (; ) is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in southeastern France. Citizens are known as ''Clusiens''. The commune is situated in the Arve Valley, on the river which bears the same name. Cluse ...

Megève Megève (; ) is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in Southeastern France with a population of more than 3,000 residents. The town is well known as a ski resort near Mont Blanc in the French Alps. Co ...

, La Roche,

Sallanches Sallanches (; ) is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of France. Located close to the Mont Blanc massif, many visitors pass through the town en route to well-known alpine resorts such as Chamonix, M ...

Samoëns Samoëns (; Franco-Provençal, Arpitan: ''Samouens'') is an alpine Communes of France, commune on the France–Switzerland border, Swiss border in the Haute-Savoie Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, r ...

, Taninges and Viuz-en-Sallaz. *

Thonon Thonon-les-Bains (; ), often simply referred to as Thonon, is a subprefecture of the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in Eastern France. In 2018, the commune had a population of 35,241. Thonon-les-Bains is part of a ...

: Douvaine, Évian, Saint-Jean-d'Aulps and

. After the final defeat of

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

in 1815, the former Republic of Geneva became a

Swiss canton The 26 cantons of Switzerland are the Federated state, member states of the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. The nucleus of the Swiss Confederacy in the form of the first three confederate allies used to be referred to as the . Two important ...

, and Savoy was returned to the

Kingdom of Sardinia The Kingdom of Sardinia, also referred to as the Kingdom of Sardinia and Corsica among other names, was a State (polity), country in Southern Europe from the late 13th until the mid-19th century, and from 1297 to 1768 for the Corsican part of ...

. The Pays de Gex returned to the department of Ain except for six communes ( Pregny, Collex-Bossy,

Grand-Saconnex Le Grand-Saconnex () is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality of the Canton of Geneva, Switzerland. Several international organizations and permanent missions to the United Nations are located in Grand Saconnex. Consequently, the populat ...

, Vernier,

Meyrin Meyrin () is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality of the Canton of Geneva, Switzerland. The main site of CERN, the European particle physics research organisation, is in Meyrin. Meyrin was originally a small agricultural village until the ...

and

Versoix Versoix () is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the Canton of Geneva, in Switzerland. It is located in the northern suburbs of Geneva. Geography Versoix has an area, , of . Of this area, or 29.1% is used for agricultural purpose ...

), which were ceded to the Canton of Geneva.

Administration

Prefects

The Prefect was the highest state representative in the department.

Secretary-General

The Secretary-General was the deputy to the Prefect.

Subprefects of Bonneville

Subprefects of Genève

The office of Subprefect of Genève was held by the Prefect until 1811.

Subprefects of Thonon

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leman Former departments of France in Switzerland States and territories established in 1798 Former departments of France in France States and territories disestablished in 1815 Haute-Savoie History of Geneva 1798 establishments in France