The cantons of France are administrative divisions subdividingarrondissements and départements. They often grouping several municipalities (communes). The 100 French départements are divided into 342 arrondissements. ... The départements (or departments) are administrative units of France and many former French colonies, roughly analogous to British counties. ... The commune is an administrative division of France. ...

Cantons number 3,879 among the 329 arondissements and 96 departments of France.

Role and administration

The role of the canton is essentially to provide a framework for regional elections. Each canton elects a person to represent it at the conseil général du département — or general council for the department, which is the principal administrative division in France. Template:France divisions levels, Junkyard Willie The départements (or departments) are administrative units of France and many former French colonies, roughly analogous to British counties. ...

In urban areas a single commune — or municipality — can generally include several cantons. Conversely, in rural areas a canton can be made of several small communes, in which case administrative services (the gendarmerie headquarters, for example) are often situated in the principal town (chef-lieu) of a rural canton. The commune is the lowest level of administrative division in the French Republic. ... A gendarmerie (pronounced ) is a military body charged with police duties among civilian populations. ...

For statistical purposes, the twenty arrondissements of Paris — the administrative subdivision there — are sometimes considered as cantons, but they serve no electoral function in that city. The city of Paris is divided into 20 arrondissements municipaux (“municipal boroughs,” approximately, in English), more simply referred to as arrondissements (pronounced ). These are not to be confused with departmental arrondissements, which subdivide the 100 French départements. ...

Cantons also form legal districts as seats of Courts of First Instance. Historically the cantons are called justices de paix — or "district courts".

History

The cantons were created in 1790 at the same time as the départements by the Revolutionary Committee for the Division of Territory (Comité de division). They were more numerous than today (between 40 and 60 to each département). 1790 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ...

They were at first grouped into what were called districts but after the latter were abolished in 1800 they were organized into arrondissements. The 100 French départements are divided into 342 arrondissements. ...

Their number was drastically reduced (between 30 and 50) by the Loi du 8 pluviôse an IX (28 January 1801), or the "Law for the Reduction of the Number of District Courts", or Loi portant réduction du nombre de justices de paix in French. The departmental prefects were told by the government to group the communes within newly established cantons. The départemental lists, once approved by the government, were published in the Bulletin des Lois in 1801 and 1802; they are the base of the administrative divisions of France still in place today. January 28 is the 28th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... The Union Jack, flag of the newly formed United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. ... The départements (or departments) are administrative units of France and many former French colonies, roughly analogous to English counties. ... The Union Jack, flag of the newly formed United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. ... --69. ...

Since that time, cantons with small populations have been eliminated and new ones have been created in regions of strong growth.

Statistics

The number of cantons varies from one department to another; the Territoire de Belfort, for example, has 15, while Nord has 79. The island of Mayotte, which has an administrative form similar to that of a department, is divided into 19 cantons. The Territoire de Belfort is a département in the Franche-Comté région of eastern France. ... Extent of Flemish in the Arrondissement of Dunkirk, 1874 and 1972 Nord (French: North) is a département in the north of France. ...

See also

• Administrative divisions of France
• Canton (subnational entity)
• List of cantons of France