Regions of France

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Regions of France
Régions (French)
CategoryUnitary republic
LocationFrance
Number18
Possible status
Additional status
Populations279,471 (Mayotte) – 12,997,058 (Île-de-France)
Areas376 km2 (145 sq mi) (Mayotte) – 84,061 km2 (32,456 sq mi) (Nouvelle-Aquitaine)
Government
Subdivisions

France is divided into eighteen administrative regions (French: régions, singular région [ʁeʒjɔ̃]), of which thirteen are located in metropolitan France (in Europe), while the other five are overseas regions (not to be confused with the overseas collectivities, which have a semi-autonomous status).[1]

All of the thirteen metropolitan administrative regions (including Corsica as of 2019) 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, 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[edit]

1982–2015[edit]

The term région 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.[2]

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.

Regions of France between 2011 and 2015
Regions in Metropolitan France between 1982 and 2015
Region French name Other local name(s) INSEE No.[3] Capital Derivation or etymology
Alsace Alsace Alsatian: Elsàss
German: Elsass
42 Strasbourg Formerly a coalition of free cities in Holy Roman Empire, attached to Kingdom of France in 1648; annexed by Germany from Franco-Prussian war to the end of World War I and briefly during World War II
Aquitaine Aquitaine Occitan: Aquitània
Basque: Akitania
Saintongeais : Aguiéne
72 Bordeaux Guyenne and Gascony
Auvergne Auvergne Occitan: Auvèrnhe / Auvèrnha 83 Clermont-Ferrand Former province of Auvergne
Brittany Bretagne Breton: Breizh
Gallo: Bertaèyn
53 Rennes Duchy of Brittany
Burgundy Bourgogne Burgundian: Bregogne / Borgoégne
Arpitan: Borgogne
26 Dijon Duchy of Burgundy
Centre-Val de Loire[4] Centre-Val de Loire 24 Orléans Located in north-central France; straddles the middle of the Loire Valley
Champagne-Ardenne Champagne-Ardenne 21 Châlons-en-
Champagne
Former province of Champagne
Corsica Corse 94 Ajaccio
Franche-Comté Franche-Comté Franc-Comtois: Fràntche-Comté
Arpitan: Franche-Comtât
43 Besançon Free County of Burgundy (Franche-Comté)
Île-de-France Île-de-France 11 Paris Province of Île-de-France and parts of the former province of Champagne
Languedoc-Roussillon Languedoc-Roussillon Occitan: Lengadòc-Rosselhon
Catalan: Llenguadoc-Rosselló
91 Montpellier Former provinces of Languedoc and Roussillon
Limousin Limousin Occitan: Lemosin 74 Limoges Former province of Limousin and parts of Marche, Berry, Auvergne, Poitou and Angoumois
Lorraine Lorraine German: Lothringen
Lorraine Franconian: Lottringe
41 Metz Named for Charlemagne's son Lothair I, the kingdom of Lotharingia is etymologically the source for the name Lorraine (duchy), Lothringen (German), Lottringe (Lorraine Franconian)
Lower Normandy Basse-Normandie Norman: Basse-Normaundie
Breton: Normandi-Izel
25 Caen Western half of former province of Normandy
Midi-Pyrénées Midi-Pyrénées Occitan: Miègjorn-Pirenèus
Occitan: Mieidia-Pirenèus
73 Toulouse None; created for Toulouse
Nord-Pas-de-Calais Nord-Pas-de-Calais Picard: Nord-Pas-Calés 31 Lille Nord and Pas-de-Calais departments
Pays de la Loire Pays de la Loire Breton: Broioù al Liger 52 Nantes None; created for Nantes
Picardy Picardie 22 Amiens Former province of Picardy
Poitou-Charentes Poitou-Charentes Occitan: Peitau-Charantas
Poitevin and Saintongeais : Poetou-Chérentes
54 Poitiers Former provinces of Angoumois, Aunis, Poitou and Saintonge
Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (PACA) Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (PACA) Provençal: Provença-Aups-Còsta d'Azur
(Prouvènço-Aup-Costo d'Azur)
93 Marseille Former historical province of Provence and County of Nice annexed by France in 1860.
Rhône-Alpes Rhône-Alpes Arpitan: Rôno-Arpes
Occitan: Ròse Aups
82 Lyon Created for Lyon from Dauphiné and Lyonnais provinces and Savoy
Upper Normandy Haute-Normandie Norman: Ĥâote-Normaundie
Breton: Normandi-Uhel
23 Rouen Eastern half of former province of Normandy

Reform and mergers of regions[edit]

In 2014, the French parliament passed a law reducing the number of metropolitan regions from 22 to 13 effective 1 January 2016.[5]

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, Poitou-Charentes and Limousin was temporarily called Aquitaine-Limousin-Poitou-Charentes. However, the combined region of Upper and Lower Normandy was 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.[6][7] 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.[8] Two regions, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, opted to retain their interim names.[9][10]

Given below is a table of former regions and which new region they became part of.

Former region New region
Interim name Final name
Auvergne Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Rhône-Alpes
Burgundy Bourgogne-Franche-Comté
Franche-Comté
Brittany
Centre-Val de Loire
Corsica
French Guiana
Alsace Alsace-Champagne-Ardenne-Lorraine Grand Est
Champagne-Ardenne
Lorraine
Guadeloupe
Nord-Pas-de-Calais Nord-Pas-de-Calais-Picardie Hauts-de-France
Picardy
Île-de-France
Martinique
Mayotte
Lower Normandy Normandy
Upper Normandy
Aquitaine Aquitaine-Limousin-Poitou-Charentes Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Limousin
Poitou-Charentes
Languedoc-Roussillon Languedoc-Roussillon-Midi-Pyrénées Occitanie
Midi-Pyrénées
Pays de la Loire
Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
Réunion

List of administrative regions[edit]

Type Region Other local name(s) ISO INSEE No.[11] Capital Area (km2) Population[a][12] Seats in
Regional council
Former regions
(until 2016)
President of the Regional Council Location
Metropolitan Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
(Auvergne-Rhône-Alps)
Occitan: Auvèrnhe-Ròse-Aups
Arpitan: Ôvèrgne-Rôno-Arpes
FR-ARA 84 Lyon 69,711
8,042,936
204 Auvergne
Rhône-Alpes
Laurent Wauquiez (LR)
Metropolitan Bourgogne-Franche-Comté
(Burgundy-Free-County)
Arpitan: Borgogne-Franche-Comtât FR-BFC 27 Dijon 47,784
2,805,580
100 Burgundy
Franche-Comté
Marie-Guite Dufay (PS)
Metropolitan Bretagne
(Brittany)
Breton: Breizh
Gallo: Bertaèyn
FR-BRE 53 Rennes 27,208
3,354,854
83 unchanged Loïg Chesnais-Girard (PS)
Metropolitan Centre-Val de Loire[4]
(Central-Vale of the Loire)
FR-CVL 24 Orléans 39,151
2,573,180
77 unchanged François Bonneau (PS)
Metropolitan Corse
(Corsica)
Corsican: Corsica FR-20R 94 Ajaccio 8,680
340,440
63 unchanged Jean-Guy Talamoni (CL)
Metropolitan Grand Est
(Greater East)
German: Großer Osten FR-GES 44 Strasbourg 57,441
5,556,219
169 Alsace
Champagne-Ardenne
Lorraine
Jean Rottner (LR)
Metropolitan Hauts-de-France
(Heights-of-France)
FR-HDF 32 Lille 31,806
6,004,947
170 Nord-Pas-de-Calais
Picardy
Xavier Bertrand (LR)
Metropolitan Île-de-France
(Isle-of-France)
Breton: Enez-Frañs FR-IDF 11 Paris 12,011
12,262,544
209 unchanged Valérie Pécresse (LR)
Metropolitan Normandie
(Normandy)
Norman: Normaundie
Breton: Normandi
FR-NOR 28 Rouen 29,907
3,325,032
102 Upper Normandy
Lower Normandy
Hervé Morin (LC)
Metropolitan Nouvelle-Aquitaine
(New Aquitaine)
Occitan: Nòva Aquitània / Nava Aquitània / Novela Aquitània
Basque: Akitania Berria
FR-NAQ 75 Bordeaux 84,036
6,010,289
183 Aquitaine
Limousin
Poitou-Charentes
Alain Rousset (PS)
Metropolitan Occitanie

(Occitania)

Occitan: Occitània
Catalan: Occitània
FR-OCC 76 Toulouse 72,724
5,933,185
158 Languedoc-Roussillon
Midi-Pyrénées
Carole Delga (PS)
Metropolitan Pays de la Loire
(Lands of the Loire)
Breton: Broioù al Liger FR-PDL 52 Nantes 32,082
3,806,461
93 unchanged Christelle Morançais (LR)
Metropolitan Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
(Provence-Alps-Azure Coast)
Provençal: Provença-Aups-Còsta d'Azur
(Prouvènço-Aup-Costo d'Azur)
FR-PAC 93 Marseille 31,400
5,081,101
123 unchanged Renaud Muselier (LR)
Overseas Guadeloupe Antillean Creole: Gwadloup GP 01 Basse-Terre 1,628
384,239
41 unchanged Ary Chalus (GUSR)
Overseas Guyane
(French Guiana)
French Guianese Creole: Lagwiyann or Gwiyann GF 03 Cayenne 83,534[13]
281,678
51 unchanged Rodolphe Alexandre (PSG)
Overseas La Réunion
(Réunion)
Reunion Creole: La Rényon RE 04 Saint-Denis 2,504
861,210
45 unchanged Didier Robert (LR)
Overseas Martinique Antillean Creole: Matinik MQ 02 Fort-de-France 1,128
364,508
51 unchanged Claude Lise (RDM)
Overseas Mayotte Shimaore: Maore
Malagasy: Mahori
YT 06 Mamoudzou 374
262,895[b][14]
26 unchanged Soibahadine Ibrahim Ramadani (LR)
632,734 68,035,000 1,910

Role[edit]

Regions lack separate legislative authority and therefore cannot write their own statutory law. They levy their own taxes and, in return, receive a decreasing[clarification needed] 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[edit]

Number of regions controlled by each coalition since 1986.

Elections Presidencies Map
  Left
  Right
  Other
1986 5 21
1992 4 21 1
1998 10 15 1
2004 23 2 1
2010 23 3
2015 7 8 2
2021 6 8 4

Overseas regions[edit]

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 (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:

^ Saint Pierre and Miquelon (located just south of Newfoundland, Canada, in North America), once an overseas department, was demoted to a territorial collectivity in 1985.

See also[edit]

General:

Overseas

Explanatory notes[edit]

  1. ^ As of 1 January 2022
  2. ^ As of 2017

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Statistiques locales: France par région" (in French). INSEE. Retrieved 4 July 2022.
  2. ^ Jean-Marie Miossec (2009), Géohistoire de la régionalisation en France, Paris: Presses universitaires de France ISBN 978-2-13-056665-6.
  3. ^ "Code officiel géographique au 1er janvier 2014: Liste des régions". INSEE.
  4. ^ a b New name as of 17 January 2015; formerly named Centre.
  5. ^ La carte à 13 régions définitivement adoptée, Le Monde, 17 December 2014, accessed 2 January 2015
  6. ^ Quel nom pour la nouvelle région ? Vous avez choisi..., Sud-Ouest, 4 December 2014, accessed 2 January 2015
  7. ^ "Nouveau nom de la région : dernier jour de vote, Occitanie en tête". midilibre.fr.
  8. ^ "Journal officiel of 17 January 2015". Légifrance (in French). 17 January 2015. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
  9. ^ "Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes : fini la consultation, Laurent Wauquiez a tranché - Place Gre'net". placegrenet.fr. 31 May 2016.
  10. ^ "Région Bourgogne-Franche-Comté". www.bourgognefranchecomte.fr.
  11. ^ "La nouvelle nomenclature des codes régions" (in French). INSEE. Retrieved 17 January 2016.
  12. ^ Populations légales des régions en vigueur au 1er janvier 2022
  13. ^ "Population by sex, annual rate of population increase, surface area and density" (PDF). untstats.un.org. p. 5.
  14. ^ Populations légales des communes de Mayotte en 2017

External links[edit]

Overseas regions