Régions of France
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| This article is part of the series on Administrative divisions of France |
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| Regional level |
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Région |
| Departmental level |
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Département |
| Arrondissement level |
| Arrondissement |
| Cantonal level |
| Canton |
| Intercommunal level |
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Communauté urbaine |
| Communal level |
| Overseas |
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Collectivité d'outre-mer |
France is divided into 26 régions, of which 21 are in the continental part of metropolitan France, one is Corse on the island of Corsica (although strictly speaking Corse is in fact a "territorial collectivity", not a région, but is referred to as a région in common speech), and four lie overseas. Régions in mainland France are further subdivided into between about 1 and 8 départements each.
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[edit] General characteristics
In continental France (metropolitan France excluding Corsica), the median land area of a région is 25,809 km² (9,965 sq. miles), which is about one-fifth of the median land area of a U.S. state, but 28% larger than the median land area of a German state, and 67% larger than the median land area of a region of England.
In 2004, the median population of a région 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, a little more than one-half of the median population of a U.S. state, and three-quarter of the median population of a German state.
A median région of continental France is made up of four départements.
[edit] Role
Régions do not have legislative autonomy, nor can they issue regulations. They levy their own distinct taxes (and receive a decreasing part of their budget from the national government which gives them a portion of the taxes it levies) and have sizeable, though not considerable, budgets, managed by a regional assembly (conseil régional) with nominated representants in the départements assemblies and major municipalities in the région.
Their main legal attribution is to build and pay equipment costs for high schools; in March 2004, the French national government announced a controversial plan to transfer to the régions some categories of non-teaching school personnel. Critics of this plan contend that it is doubtful that sufficient fiscal resources for these additional charges will be transferred, and that such measures will increase inequalities between régions.
Apart from these legal attributions, régions have considerable discretionary spending for infrastructure (education, public transportation systems, aid to universities and research, support for entrepreneurs). Because of this, being president of a wealthy région such as Île-de-France or Rhône-Alpes may be quite a high profile position.
There are, from time to time, discussions about giving limited legislative autonomy to the régions, but such proposals are controversial. There are also proposals to suppress the local government (conseil général) of the départements and to folding them into their régions, keeping the départements only as administrative subdivisions.
[edit] History
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[edit] List
- Régions which are also départements d'outre-mer (DOM)
(Overseas departments), each of them consisting of a single département coterminous with a région:- 23 Guadeloupe
- 24 Martinique
- 25 French Guiana
- 26 Réunion
[edit] See also
- Conseil régional
- Administrative divisions of France
- Ranked list of French régions
- French regional elections, 2004
- Subdivisions of France
- Flags of French regions
[edit] External links
Alsace • Aquitaine • Auvergne • Bourgogne • Bretagne • Centre • Champagne-Ardenne • Corsica • Franche-Comté • Île-de-France • Languedoc-Roussillon • Limousin • Lorraine • Midi-Pyrénées • Nord-Pas de Calais • Basse-Normandie • Haute-Normandie • Pays de la Loire • Picardie • Poitou-Charentes • Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur • Rhône-Alpes
Overseas Régions: French Guiana • Guadeloupe • Martinique • Réunion
