Cap-d'Ail is a small French town and commune that borders Monaco. It is located in the Alpes-Maritimes département. Population (1999): 4,532. The commune (in French: commune, word appeared in the 12th century, from Medieval Latin communia, gathering of people sharing a common life, from Latin communis, things held in common) is the lowest level of administrative division in the French Republic. ... Alpes_Maritimes is a département in the extreme southeast corner of France. ... The départements (or departments) are administrative units of France, roughly analogous to British counties. ...