The départements (or The départements (or departments) are administrative units of France, roughly analogous to British counties and are now grouped into 22 metropolitan and four overseas régions. They are subdivided into 342 arrondissements. Départements are also found in Côte dIvoire. Administrative role Each department is administered by... departments) are administrative units of The French Republic or France ( French: République française or France) is a country whose metropolitan territory is located in western Europe, and which is further made up of a collection of overseas islands and territories located in other continents. France is a democracy organised as a... France, roughly analogous to British Originally, a county was the land under the jurisdiction of a count (in Great Britain, an earl, though the original earldoms covered larger areas) by reason of that office. The term has since tended to represent a tertiary geographical unit of administration intermediate between the larger, secondary state or province... counties and are now grouped into 22 metropolitan and four overseas is divided into 26 régions, further subdivided into départements. Role Regions do not have legislative autonomy, nor can they issue regulations. They do levy taxes (or, rather, the national government gives them a portion of the taxes it levies) and have sizeable, though not considerable budgets. Their main... régions. They are subdivided into 342 The 100 French départements are divided into 342 arrondissements. The capital of an arrondissement is called sous-préfecture. When an arrondissement contains the préfecture (capital) of the département, that préfecture is the capital of the arrondissement, acting both as a... arrondissements. Côte dIvoire is divided into 58 départements: See also Politics of Côte dIvoire Categories: Lists of subnational entities | Côte dIvoire ... Départements are also found in Côte dIvoire (often called Ivory Coast in English; see below about the name) is a country in West Africa. It borders Liberia, Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Ghana to the west, north, and east, and borders the Gulf of Guinea to its south. One of the most... Côte d'Ivoire.

Administrative role

Each department is administered by a Conseil Général elected for six years, and its executive is, since 1982 is a number and represents a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar Events January-February January 6 - William Bonin is convicted of being the freeway killer. January 8 - AT&T agrees to divest itself of twenty-two subdivisions January 11 - Mark Thatcher, son of the... 1982 headed by the president of that council (formerly it was headed by the préfet).

The This article is about the political and administrative structures of the French government. For French political parties and tendencies, see Politics of France. In its Constitution, France declares itself to be an indivisible, laïque [roughly, secular], democratic and social republic. Frances constitution enacts a separation of powers as... French national government is represented in the département by a préfet appointed by the national executive. The préfet is assisted by one or more sous-préfets based in district centres outside the departmental capital.

The capital city of a département bears the title of préfecture. Départements are divided into one to seven An arrondissement is an administrative division in some francophone countries: France Paris Main article: Arrondissements of Paris The city of Paris, in France is divided into 20 arrondissements. Marseille and Lyon The French cities Marseille and Lyon are also divided into arrondissements. Administrative division of France Main article: Arrondissement in... arrondissements. The capital city of an arrondissement is called the sous-préfecture. The civil servant in charge is the sous-préfet.

The départements sub-divide into The commune is an administrative division of France. The rights and obligations of communes are governed by the Code général des collectivités territoriales (CGCT) which replaced the Code des communes (except for personnel matters) with the passage of the law of 21 February 1996 for legislation and... communes, governed by A municipality or general-purpose district (compare with: special-purpose district) is an administrative local area generally composed of a clearly defined territory and commonly referring to a city, town, or village government. Municipalities are not necessarily the same as townships. In most countries, this is the smallest administrative subdivision... municipal councils. France (as of 1999) had 36,779 communes.

Most of the départements have an area of around 4,000-8,000 km² and a population between 250,000 and a million. The largest in terms of area is Gironde is a département in the southwest of France named after the Gironde Estuary. History Gironde was one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790. It was created from parts of the former provinces of Guyenne and Gascogne. From 1793 to... Gironde (10,000 km²) and the smallest the city of The Eiffel Tower has become the symbol of Paris throughout the world. Paris is the capital city of France, as well as the capital of the Île-de-France région, whose territory encompasses Paris and its suburbs. The city of Paris proper is also a dé... Paris (105 km² excluding the suburbs, now organised in adjacent départements). The most populous is Nord (French, the north) is a département in the north of France. History Nord comprises the French part of former Flanders, excluding the western part separated in 1237 as the county of Artois (now a part of the neighbouring Pas-de-Calais). This territory had been ruled by... Nord (2,550,000) and the least populous Lozère is a département in southeast France near the Massif Central. History Lozère was one of the original 83 départements created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790. It was created from part of the former province of Languedoc. The Beast... Lozère (74,000).

See also: List of French départements by population

The départements are numbered: their two-digit numbers appear in A postal code is a series of letters and/or digits appended to a postal address for the purpose of sorting mail. The vast majority of the worlds postal services and/or countries have postal code systems. However, contrary to common misconception, not all do: The Republic of Ireland... postal codes and on car number-plates. Note that there is no number 20, but 2A and 2B instead. Note also that the two-digit code "98" is used by The Principality of Monaco or Monaco ( French: Principauté de Monaco or Monaco; Monegasque: Munegu or Principatu de Munegu) is a city state and the second-smallest country in the world, wedged in between the Mediterranean Sea and France along the French Riviera or Côte dAzur (The... Monaco. Together with the ISO 3166-1 as part of the ISO 3166 standard provides codes for the names of countries and dependent areas. It was first published in 1974 by the International Organization for Standardization and defines three different codes for each area: ISO 3166-1 alpha-2, a two-letter system, has... ISO 3166-1 country code FR the numbers form the ISO 3166-2 is the second part of the ISO 3166 standard. It is a geocode system created for coding the names of subdivisions of countries (subnational entities) and dependent areas. The purpose of the standard is to establish a worldwide series of short abbreviations for places, for use on... ISO 3166-2 country subdivision codes for the metropolitan departments. The overseas departments get two letters for the ISO 3166-2 code.

History

Départements were created on January 4 is the 4th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. There are 361 days remaining (362 in leap years). Events 871 - Battle of Reading - Ethelred of Wessex fights a Danish invasion army . 1493 - Christopher Columbus leaves the New World, ending his first journey . 1642 - English Civil War... January 4, 1790 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). Events January 8 - George Washington gives the first State of the Union Address. January 30 - The first boat specialized as a lifeboat is tested on the River Tyne. February 1 - In New York City the Supreme Court of... 1790 by the The National Constituent Assembly (French: Assemblée nationale constituante) was formed from the National Assembly on July 9, 1789, during the first stages of the French Revolution. It dissolved September 30, 1791, succeeded by the Legislative Assembly. Background The Estates-General of 1789, which convened on May 5, had reached... Constituent Assembly to replace the country's former The kingdom of France was organized into provinces until March 4, 1790, when the establishment of the département system superseded provinces. The change was an attempt to eradicate local loyalties based on feudal ownership of land and focus all loyalty on the central government in Paris. The names of... provinces with a more rational structure. They were also designed to deliberately break up France's historical regions in an attempt to erase cultural differences and build a more homogeneous nation. Most départements are named after the area's principal river(s) or other physical features.

The number of départements rose from an initial 83 to 130 by 1810 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). Events January 10 - Marriage of Napoleon and Josephine is annulled January 20 - Tyrolean rebel leader Andreas Hofer executed March 11 - Napoleon marries Marie-Louise of Austria April 19 - Venezuela achieves home rule: Emparan, Governor of the Captaincy General... 1810 with the territorial gains of the Republic and of the The First French Empire, commonly known as the French Empire, the Napoleonic Empire or simply as The Empire, covers the period of the domination of France and of much of continental Europe by Napoleon I of France. Constitutionally, it refers to the period of 1804 to 1814, from the Consulate... Empire (see The modern day Netherlands are divided into twelve provinces (provincies in Dutch), listed below with their capital city: Map of the Netherlands, with provinces and capital cities See also the ranked list of Dutch provinces Structure A Dutch province represents the administrative layer in between the national government and the... Provinces of the Netherlands for the Annexation is the legal merging of some territory into another body. A city might annex unincorporated areas or a country might annex other disputed territories. Sometimes also used to refer to mergers of countries. Examples of Annexation Pacific Northwest and California In 1844 onwards, United States of America attempted to... annexed Dutch departements), but they were reduced again to 86 with For other uses, see Napoleon (disambiguation). Portrait of Napoléon Bonaparte Napoléon Bonaparte (15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821) was a general and ruler of the French Republic. He was a general of the French Revolution and became the effective ruler of France in 1799: he was First... Napoleon I's defeat in 1814 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). Events January 14 - Denmark cedes Norway to Sweden in exchange for west Pomerania, as part of the Treaty of Kiel January 29 - French army of Emperor Napoleon I wins the Battle of Brienne January 31 - Gervasio Antonio de... 1814- 1815 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). Events January 3 - Austria, Britain, and France form a secret defensive alliance treaty against Prussia and Russia. January 4 - Netherlands, Foundation of the first dutch student association, the Groninger Studenten Corps, Vindicat Atque Polit. The first rector of... 1815. Three more were added with the acquisition of This article is about the city. For other Nice articles, see Nice (disambiguation). City motto: Nicæa civitas.1 ( Latin: Nice the city) City proper ( commune) Région Provence-Alpes-Côte-dAzur Département Alpes-Maritimes (06) Mayor Jacques Peyrat ( UMP) (since 1995) Area... Nice and This article is about the historical region of Savoy. For other uses, see Savoy (disambiguation) Savoy (Italian Savoia, French Savoie) is a region of western Europe that emerged, along with the free communes of Switzerland, from the collapse of the Frankish Kingdom of Burgundy. Installed by Rudolph III, King of... Savoy in 1860 is the leap year starting on Sunday. Events March March 6 - Abraham Lincoln speaks against slavery in New Haven, Connecticut April April 3 - The Pony Express makes its first run. May May 1 - A chondrite type meteorite fell to earth in Muskingum County, Ohio near the town of New... 1860. The numbering was estabished on the alphabetical order of those 89 départements.

Three départements in French: Alsace-Lorraine; German: Elsaß-Lothringen) was the territory ceded by France to the newly-unified Germany under the 1871 Treaty of Frankfurt (which ended the Franco-Prussian War) and restored to France after World War I by the 1919 Treaty of Versailles. Its legal name is Alsace-Moselle. Area... Alsace-Lorraine which had been ceded to The Federal Republic of Germany ( German: Bundesrepublik Deutschland) is one of the worlds leading industrialised countries, located in the heart of Europe. Due to its central location, Germany has more neighbours than any other European country: these are Denmark in the north, Poland and the Czech Republic in the... Germany in 1871 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). Events January - April January 18 - The member-states of the North German Confederation unite into a single nation-state known as the German Empire. The King of Prussia is declared the first German Emperor as Wilhelm I of... 1871 ( Haut-Rhin is a French département, named after the Rhine river. History The département was created during the French Revolution, on March 4, 1790 by application of the law of December 22, 1789 on the southern half of the province of Alsace (Haute-Alsace). Its boundaries were modified... Haut-Rhin, History The département was created on March 4, 1790, during the French Revolution. Geography The Rhine River has always been of importance to the area. Economy Demographics Culture Miscellaneous topics Strasbourg is the seat of the European parliament. External link Conseil Général website Categories: Départements of... Bas-Rhin, and Moselle is a département in the northeast of France named after the Moselle River. History Moselle was one of the original 83 départements created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790. It was created from the former province of Lorraine. In 1793, the foreign enclaves... Moselle) were returned to France in 1919 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). Events January January 1 - Iolaire sinking disaster January 1 - Edsel Ford succeeds his father as head of the Ford Motor Company January 5 - Spartacist uprising - Socialist demonstrations in Berlin turn into attempted communist revolution January 9 - Spartacus revolutionary... 1919. When French: Alsace-Lorraine; German: Elsaß-Lothringen) was the territory ceded by France to the newly-unified Germany under the 1871 Treaty of Frankfurt (which ended the Franco-Prussian War) and restored to France after World War I by the 1919 Treaty of Versailles. Its legal name is Alsace-Moselle. Area... Alsace-Lorraine was ceded in 1871 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). Events January - April January 18 - The member-states of the North German Confederation unite into a single nation-state known as the German Empire. The King of Prussia is declared the first German Emperor as Wilhelm I of... 1871, a small part of the département of Haut-Rhin is a French département, named after the Rhine river. History The département was created during the French Revolution, on March 4, 1790 by application of the law of December 22, 1789 on the southern half of the province of Alsace (Haute-Alsace). Its boundaries were modified... Haut-Rhin was detached from the rest of Alsace-Lorraine and remained French. This territory, called The Territoire de Belfort is a département in the Franche-Comté région of eastern France. Administration Its departmental code is 90, and its préfecture (capital) is Belfort. History Created in 1922, it is made up of that part of the former province of... Territoire de Belfort, was not reintegrated into the recovered département of Haut-Rhin is a French département, named after the Rhine river. History The département was created during the French Revolution, on March 4, 1790 by application of the law of December 22, 1789 on the southern half of the province of Alsace (Haute-Alsace). Its boundaries were modified... Haut-Rhin in 1919 and was instead made a full-status département in 1922 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). Events January 7 - Dáil Éireann, the extra-legal parliament of the Irish Republic, ratifies the Anglo-Irish Treaty by 64-57 votes. January 10 - Arthur Griffith is elected President of Dáil Éireann... 1922, becoming the 90th département of France.

Reorganisations of the The Eiffel Tower has become the symbol of Paris throughout the world. Paris is the capital city of France, as well as the capital of the Île-de-France région, whose territory encompasses Paris and its suburbs. The city of Paris proper is also a dé... Paris region ( 1968 was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1968 calendar). Events Undated Booker Prize for Fiction is established by Booker plc. 1968 is known as the year of the Prague Spring and also the year of the Paris riots. The ASCII character code is... 1968) and the division of This article is about the Mediterranean island. For the place in the United States, see Corsica, South Dakota. Capital Ajaccio Area 8,680 km² Regional President Camille de Rocca-Serra Population  - 2004 estimate  - 1999 census  - Density 272,000 260,196 30/km² Arrondissements 5 Cantons... Corsica ( 1975 was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1975 calendar). Events January January 1 - Watergate scandal: John N. Mitchell, H. R. Haldeman, John D. Ehrlichman are found guilty of the Watergate cover-up and are sentenced to between 30 months and 8 years in... 1975) have added a further six départements, raising the total to one hundred - including the four overseas Under the 1946 Constitution of the Fourth Republic, the French colonies of Guadeloupe, Martinique and French Guiana in the Caribbean and Réunion in the Indian Ocean became départements doutre-mer (Overseas departments) or DOMs. The status of DOMs differs from that of Territoire doutre... départements d'outre-mer (DOM) of Guyane ( French Guiana ( French: Guyane) is an overseas département (département doutre-mer, or DOM) of France, located on the Caribbean coast of South America. History Main article: History of French Guiana First settled by the French in 1604, French Guiana was the site of notorious penal... French Guiana) in South America South America is a continent crossed by the equator, with most of its area in the Southern Hemisphere. South America is situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean. It became attached to North America only recently, geologically speaking, with the formation of the Isthmus of Panama... South America, Guadeloupe, in the Caribbean Sea, is an archipelago with a total area of 1,704 km² located in the Eastern Caribbean. Administratively speaking, Guadeloupe is an overseas département (département doutre-mer, or DOM) of France. As the other DOMs, Guadeloupe is also a r... Guadeloupe and The département of Martinique is an overseas département (département doutre-mer, or DOM) of France, located in the Caribbean Sea. The capital is Fort-de-France. Population at the 1999 census: 381,427 inhabitants. Population as of 1.1. 2004 estimates: 393,000... Martinique in the Central America and the Caribbean The Caribbean Sea is a body of water adjacent to the Atlantic Ocean, south of the Gulf of Mexico. It is bounded on the south by Venezuela, Colombia, and Panama, to the west by Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala, Belize, and the Yucatan peninsula of... Caribbean Sea, and Réunion is an island, as well as an overseas département (département doutre-mer, or DOM) of France, located in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar. As the other DOMs, Réunion is also a région of France with much the... Réunion in the The Indian Ocean is the third-largest body of water in the world, covering about 20% of the Earths water surface. It is bounded on the north by southern Asia (the Indian subcontinent); on the west by the Arabian Peninsula and Africa; on the east by the Malay Peninsula... Indian Ocean.

Map and list of départements

French régions and départements

Notes:

1. The préfecture of Val-dOise is a French département named after the Oise River, located in the Île-de-France région. History Val-dOise was created when the former départements Seine and Seine-et-Oise were broken up into six départements in... Val-d'Oise has been established in Pontoise is a suburban commune of the Val-dOise département, in suburban Paris in France. It belongs to the new town of Cergy-Pontoise History Pontoise is the historical capital of the Vexin français. Its foundation dates from the Roman times (Pontisara). As that time, the rock... Pontoise when the department was created, but moved de facto to the neighbouring commune of Cergy is a suburban commune of the Val-dOise département, in suburban Paris in France. It is the principal centre of the new town of Cergy-Pontoise Population When Cergy was selected to become the center of a new city, it was yet only one village. The commune... Cergy.
2. The Under the 1946 Constitution of the Fourth Republic, the French colonies of Guadeloupe, Martinique and French Guiana in the Caribbean and Réunion in the Indian Ocean became départements doutre-mer (Overseas departments) or DOMs. The status of DOMs differs from that of Territoire doutre... overseas departments are former colonies outside France that now enjoy a status similar to European or metropolitan France. They are part of France and of the The European Union or EU is an intergovernmental organisation of European countries, which currently has 25 member states. The Union was established under that name by the Treaty on European Union (commonly known as the Maastricht Treaty) in 1992. However, many aspects of the EU existed before that date through... EU. Each of them constitutes a région at the same time.

Former départements

• Former départements on the current territory of France:

• Départements whose names have been changed (in most cases, to lose the terms "lower" and "inferior"):

• Former départements of French Algeria:
  • Before 1957 was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). Events Environmental change The Africanized bee is accidentally released in Brazil The Asian Flu pandemic begins in China March 10 - Floodgates of The Dalles Dam are closed inundating Celilo Falls and ancient indian fisheries along the... 1957:

• • 1957 was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). Events Environmental change The Africanized bee is accidentally released in Brazil The Asian Flu pandemic begins in China March 10 - Floodgates of The Dalles Dam are closed inundating Celilo Falls and ancient indian fisheries along the... 1957- 1962 was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). Events January January 1 - Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand January 3 - Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro January 4 - New York City introduces a train that operates without a crew on-board January 5... 1962:

• Former départements in the former colonies of France:

• Former départements on the territories conquered by France during the The period of the French Revolution in the history of France covers the years between 1789 and 1799, in which democrats and republicans overthrew the absolute monarchy and the Roman Catholic Church was forced to undergo radical restructuring. While France would oscillate among republic, empire, and monarchy for 75 years... French Revolution and The First French Empire, commonly known as the French Empire, the Napoleonic Empire or simply as The Empire, covers the period of the domination of France and of much of continental Europe by Napoleon I of France. Constitutionally, it refers to the period of 1804 to 1814, from the Consulate... Napoleonic Empire and now not part of France:

See also: The 130 départements of the The First French Empire, commonly known as the French Empire, the Napoleonic Empire or simply as The Empire, covers the period of the domination of France and of much of continental Europe by Napoleon I of France. Constitutionally, it refers to the period of 1804 to 1814, from the Consulate... Napoleonic Empire