Regions of France

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]

"Région" redirects here. For other uses, see Region (disambiguation).

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
This article is part of a series on the
Administrative
divisions of France
Administrative divisions
Intercommunality
Communes
Overseas France
Geocodes of France
flag France portal

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
Further information: Territorial evolution of France and Decentralisation in France

1982–2015

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 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

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 is 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 regionNew region
Interim nameFinal name
AuvergneAuvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Rhône-Alpes
BurgundyBourgogne-Franche-Comté
Franche-Comté
Brittany
Centre-Val de Loire
Corsica
French Guiana
AlsaceAlsace-Champagne-Ardenne-LorraineGrand Est
Champagne-Ardenne
Lorraine
Guadeloupe
Nord-Pas-de-CalaisNord-Pas-de-Calais-PicardieHauts-de-France
Picardy
Île-de-France
Martinique
Mayotte
Lower NormandyNormandy
Upper Normandy
AquitaineAquitaine-Limousin-Poitou-CharentesNouvelle-Aquitaine
Limousin
Poitou-Charentes
Languedoc-RoussillonLanguedoc-Roussillon-Midi-PyrénéesOccitanie
Midi-Pyrénées
Pays de la Loire
Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
Réunion

List of administrative regions
Type Region Other local name(s) ISO INSEE No.[11] Capital Area (km2) Population[lower-alpha 1][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]
(Centre-Loire Valley)		 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
(Great 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
(Upper France)		 FR-HDF 32 Lille 31,806
6,004,947
 170 Nord-Pas-de-Calais
Picardy		 Xavier Bertrand (LR)
Metropolitan Île-de-France
(Island of France)		 Breton: Enez-Frañs FR-IDF 11 Paris 12,011
12,988,888
 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
(Loire Countries)		 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)		 GF 03 Cayenne 83,534
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 26 unchanged Soibahadine Ibrahim Ramadani (LR)
632,734 68,035,000 1,910

Role

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

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

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

General:

Overseas

Explanatory notes
  1. As of 1 January 2022
  2. As of 2017

References
  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. 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. Populations légales des communes de Mayotte en 2017
Overseas regions
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.