France
is
administratively divided into 25 regions ( ), of
which 21 are on mainland France,
and four are overseas. Corsica
is a
territorial collectivity (
), but is considered a region in mainstream usage, and is even
shown as such on the INSEE website.
Each mainland region and Corsica are further subdivided into two to
eight
departments.
General characteristics
In
mainland France (excluding Corsica), the median land area of a region is 25,809 km²
(9,965 sq mi), which is just a bit larger than the state
of Vermont
, and only 4%
as large as the median land area of a Canadian province, but 15% larger than the
median land area of a German
region/land, and 67% larger than the area of a region of England.
In 2004, the median population of a region in continental France
was 2,329,000 inhabitants, which is a little less than one half of
the median population of a region of England, and three quarters of
the median population of a German
Land (state), but more than twice the
median population of a Canadian province.
Role
Regions do not have separate legislative authority and cannot
therefore 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 contend that tax revenue is insufficient to be allocated
to pay for the resulting costs and such measures would increase
regional inequalities.
Apart from these legal attributions, regions have considerable
discretionary powers for infrastructural spending, e.g., education,
public transit, funding universities and research, and assistance
for business owners.
Because of this, being the regional head of a
wealthy region such as Île-de-France
or Rhône-Alpes can
be quite a high-profile position.
Occasional discussions about giving limited legislative autonomy to
the regions remain controversial. There are also proposals to
transfer certain local government powers of the departments to
their respective regions, leaving the departments with very limited
authority.
Regional Control
Number of regions controlled by each coalition since
1986.
Red: left, blue: right
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Regions and their capitals
Metropolitan Regions
Flag |
Region |
French name |
Regional Name(s) |
Capital |
INSEE No. |
Notes |
 |
Alsace |
Alsace |
Alsatian: Elsàss |
Strasbourg |
42 |
|
 |
Aquitaine |
Aquitaine |
; |
Bordeaux |
72 |
|
 |
Auvergne |
Auvergne |
|
Clermont-Ferrand |
83 |
Takes its name from the province
of Auvergne |
 |
Burgundy |
Bourgogne |
Burgundian:
Bregogne ou Borgoégne; |
Dijon |
26 |
Takes its name from the Duchy of
Burgundy |
 |
Brittany |
Bretagne |
; Gallo: Bertaèyn |
Rennes |
53 |
Does
not include Loire
Atlantique , which is traditionally part of
Brittany |
 |
Centre |
Centre |
— |
Orléans |
24 |
Takes its name from its position in France |
 |
Champagne-Ardenne |
Champagne-Ardenne |
— |
Châlons-en-Champagne |
21 |
|
 |
Corsica |
Corse |
|
Ajaccio |
94 |
Technically not a region but a Territorial
Collectivity |
 |
Franche-Comté |
Franche-Comté |
Franc-Comtois:
Fràntche-Comté; |
Besançon |
43 |
Takes its name from the Free
County of Burgundy (Franche Comté in French) |
 |
French Guiana |
Guyane |
— |
Cayenne |
03 |
Overseas region |
.svg/50px-Flag_of_Guadeloupe_(local).svg) |
Guadeloupe |
Guadeloupe |
Antillean Creole:
Gwadloup; Tamil:
குவாதலூப்பே |
Basse-Terre |
01 |
Overseas region |
 |
Île-de-France |
Ile-de-France |
— |
Paris |
11 |
Takes
its name from the province of Ile-de-France , but also includes parts of Champagne |
 |
Languedoc-Roussillon |
Languedoc-Roussillon |
; |
Montpellier |
91 |
Takes its name from the provinces of Languedoc and Roussillon |
 |
Limousin |
Limousin |
|
Limoges |
74 |
Takes
its name from the province of Limousin , but also includes parts of Marche, Berry, Auvergne, Poitou,
and Angoumois |
 |
Lorraine |
Lorraine |
|
Metz |
41 |
Takes
its name from the province of
Lorraine, but also includes the Barrois and the Three
Bishoprics |
 |
Lower Normandy |
Basse-Normandie |
Norman:
Basse-Normaundie |
Caen |
25 |
|
 |
Martinique |
Martinique |
— |
Fort-de-France |
02 |
Overseas region |
 |
Midi-Pyrénées |
Midi-Pyrénées |
|
Toulouse |
73 |
Artificial region, with no historical links,
created as a region for Toulouse |
 |
Nord-Pas-de-Calais |
Nord-Pas-de-Calais |
|
Lille |
31 |
Takes its name from the departments of Nord
and Pas de Calais |
 |
Pays de la Loire |
Pays de la Loire |
— |
Nantes |
52 |
Artificial region, with no historical links,
created as a region for Nantes |
 |
Picardy |
Picardie |
— |
Amiens |
22 |
|
 |
Poitou-Charentes |
Poitou-Charentes |
— |
Poitiers |
54 |
|
 |
Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur |
Provence-Alpes-Côte
d'Azur |
Provençal Occitan: Provença-Aups-Còsta
d'Azur (Classical norm) or Prouvènço-Aup-Costo d'Azur
(Mistralian norm) |
Marseille |
93 |
|
 |
Reunion |
Réunion |
Tamil: இறியூனியன் |
Saint-Denis |
04 |
Overseas region |
 |
Rhône-Alpes |
Rhône-Alpes |
; |
Lyon |
82 |
Artificial region, with no historical links,
created as a region for Lyon |
 |
Upper Normandy |
Haute-Normandie |
Norman:
Ĥâote-Normaundie |
Rouen |
23 |
|
|
See also
References
External links