Departments of France

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This article is part of the series on
Administrative divisions of France

(incl. overseas regions)
Departments

(incl. overseas departments)

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Clipperton Island

The departments of France (French: département, pronounced: [depaʁtəmɑ̃]) and many of its former colonies are administrative divisions. The 100 French departments are grouped into 22 metropolitan and four overseas regions, all of which have identical legal status as integral parts of France. The departments are subdivided into 342 arrondissements, which in turn, are divided into cantons. Each canton consists of a small number of communes. In the overseas territories, some of the communes play a role at departmental level.

Contents

History

1812: Departments at the maximum extent of the First Empire
1843: France had 86 departments; Alsace and Lorraine were in France, but not Nice and Savoy

Before the French Revolution, France accumulated territory gradually through the annexation of a mosaic of more or less independent entities. By the close of the Ancien Régime it was organised into provinces. During the period of the Revolution, these were dissolved, partly in order to weaken old loyalties. Departments were created on 4 March 1790 by the National Constituent Assembly to replace the provinces with what the Assembly deemed a more rational structure. They were designed to deliberately break up France's historical regions in an attempt to erase cultural differences and build a more homogeneous nation. The old nomenclature was carefully avoided in naming the new departments. Most were named after an area's principal river or other physical features. Even Paris was in the department of Seine.

The number of departments, initially 83, was increased to 130 by 1810 with the territorial gains of the Republic and of the First French Empire (see Provinces of the Netherlands for the annexed Dutch departments). Following Napoleon's defeats in 1814-1815, the Congress of Vienna returned France to its pre-war size; the number of departments was reduced to 86, as three of the original departments had been split. In 1860, France acquired the County of Nice and Savoy, which led to the creation of three new departments. Two were added from the new Savoyard territory, while the department of Alpes-Maritimes was created from Nice and a portion of the Var department. The 89 departments were given numbers based on their alphabetical order.

The departments of Moselle, Bas-Rhin, and most of Haut-Rhin were ceded to the German Empire in 1871, following France's defeat in the Franco-Prussian War. A small part of Haut-Rhin however remained French, and became known as the Territoire de Belfort. When France regained the ceded departments after World War I, the Territoire de Belfort was not reintegrated into Haut-Rhin. In 1922, it became France's 90th department.

The reorganisation of lower France (1968) and the division of Corsica (1975) added six more departments, raising the total to 96. Counting the four overseas departments—French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, and Réunion—the total comes to 100 departments. In 2011, the overseas collectivity of Mayotte will become the 101st department.

General characteristics

Main article: Administrative divisions of France
Administration territoriale française.svg
Population density in the departments at the census of 1968 (people/km²)

The departmental seat of government is called the prefecture (préfecture) or chef-lieu de department and is generally a city of some importance roughly at the geographical centre of the department. This was determined according to the time taken to travel on horseback from the periphery of the department. The goal was for the prefecture to be accessible by horseback from any town in the department within 24 hours. The prefecture is not necessarily the largest city in the department; for instance, in Saône-et-Loire department the capital is Mâcon, but the largest city is Chalon-sur-Saône. Departments are divided into one or more arrondissements. The capital of an arrondissement is called a subprefecture (sous-préfecture) or chef-lieu d'arrondissement.

Each department is administered by a general council (conseil général), an assembly elected for six years by universal suffrage, with the president of the council as executive of the department. Before 1982, the excutive of a department was the prefect (préfet) who represents the Government of France in each department and is appointed the President of France. The prefect is assisted by one or more sub-prefects (sous-préfet) based in the subprefectures of the department.

The departments are further divided into communes, governed by municipal councils. As of 1999, there were 36,779 communes in France.

In continental France (metropolitan France, excluding Corsica), the median land area of a department is 5,965 km2 (2,303 sq mi), which is two-and-a-half times the median land area of a ceremonial county of England and slightly more than three-and-half times the median land area of a county of the United States. At the 2001 census, the median population of a department in continental France was 511,012 inhabitants, which is 21 times the median population of a U.S. county, but less than two-thirds of the median population of a ceremonial county of England. Most of the departments have an area of between 4,000 and 8,000 km², and a population between 250,000 and 1 million. The largest in area is Gironde (10,000 km²), while the smallest is the city of Paris (105 km²). The most populous is Nord (2,550,000) and the least populous is Lozère (74,000).

The departments are numbered: their two-digit numbers appear in postal codes, in INSEE codes (including "social security numbers") and on vehicle number-plates. Initially, the numbers corresponded to the alphabetical order of the names of the departments, but several changed their names, so the correspondence became less exact. There is no number 20, but 2A and 2B instead, for Corsica. Corsican postal codes or addresses in both departments do still start with 20, though. The two-digit code "96" is used by Monaco. Together with the ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 country code FR, the numbers form the ISO 3166-2 country subdivision codes for the metropolitan departments. The overseas departments get two letters for the ISO 3166-2 code, e.g. 971 for Guadeloupe (see table below).

Party-political preferences

The political preferences of the various departments in the cantonal elections of 2004.

The political preferences of the various departments in the election of 2008.

Key to the parties:

The future

The removal of one or more levels of local government has been discussed for some years; in particular, the option of removing the departmental level. Frédéric Lefebvre, spokesman for the UMP, said in December 2008, that the fusion of the departments with the regions was a matter to be dealt with soon. This was soon refuted by Édouard Balladur and Gérard Longuet, members of the Committee for the reform of local authorities, known as the Balladur Committee.[1]

In January 2008, the Commission for freeing French development, known as the Attali Commission, recommended that the departmental level of government should be eliminated within ten years.[2]

Nevertheless, the Committee for the reform of local authorities, known as the Balladur Committee has not retained this proposition and does not advocate the disappearance of the 100 departments, but simply "favors the voluntary grouping of departments," which it suggests also for the regions, with the aim of bringing the number of the latter down to fifteen.[3] This committee advocates on the contrary, the suppression of the cantons.[3]

Since April 2009, a departmental number is still included but it is now one chosen by the vehicle owner and not necessarily the place of residence. Also, the number of the department is automatically accompanied on the number plate by the logo of the region in which the department lies.

Maps and tables

INSEE code Arms 1 Department Prefecture Region
01 Coat of arms of department 01 Ain Bourg-en-Bresse  Rhône-Alpes
02 Coat of arms of department 02 Aisne Laon  Picardie
03 Coat of arms of department 03 Allier Moulins  Auvergne
04 Coat of arms of department 04 Alpes-de-Haute-Provence 2 Digne-les-Bains  Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
05 Coat of arms of department 05 Hautes-Alpes Gap  Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
06 Coat of arms of department 06 Alpes-Maritimes Nice  Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
07 Coat of arms of department 07 Ardèche Privas  Rhône-Alpes
08 Coat of arms of department 08 Ardennes Charleville-Mézières  Champagne-Ardenne
09 Coat of arms of department 09 Ariège Foix  Midi-Pyrénées
10 Coat of arms of department 10 Aube Troyes  Champagne-Ardenne
11 Coat of arms of department 11 Aude Carcassonne  Languedoc-Roussillon
12 Coat of arms of department 12 Aveyron Rodez  Midi-Pyrénées
13 Coat of arms of department 13 Bouches-du-Rhône Marseille  Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
14 Coat of arms of department 14 Calvados Caen  Basse-Normandie
15 Coat of arms of department 15 Cantal Aurillac  Auvergne
16 Coat of arms of department 16 Charente Angoulême  Poitou-Charentes
17 Coat of arms of department 17 Charente-Maritime 3 La Rochelle  Poitou-Charentes
18 Coat of arms of department 18 Cher Bourges  Centre
19 Coat of arms of department 19 Corrèze Tulle  Limousin
2A Coat of arms of Corsica Corse-du-Sud Ajaccio  Corsica
2B Coat of arms of Corsica Haute-Corse Bastia  Corsica
21 Coat of arms of department 21 Côte-d'Or Dijon  Bourgogne
22 Coat of arms of department 22 Côtes-d'Armor 4 Saint-Brieuc  Bretagne
23 Coat of arms of department 23 Creuse Guéret  Limousin
24 Coat of arms of department 24 Dordogne Périgueux  Aquitaine
25 Coat of arms of department 25 Doubs Besançon  Franche-Comté
26 Coat of arms of department 26 Drôme Valence  Rhône-Alpes
27 Coat of arms of department 27 Eure Évreux  Haute-Normandie
28 Coat of arms of department 28 Eure-et-Loir Chartres  Centre
29 Coat of arms of department 29 Finistère Quimper  Bretagne
30 Coat of arms of department 30 Gard Nîmes  Languedoc-Roussillon
31 Coat of arms of department 31 Haute-Garonne Toulouse  Midi-Pyrénées
32 Coat of arms of department 32 Gers Auch  Midi-Pyrénées
33 Coat of arms of department 33 Gironde 5 Bordeaux  Aquitaine
34 Coat of arms of department 34 Hérault Montpellier  Languedoc-Roussillon
35 Coat of arms of department 35 Ille-et-Vilaine Rennes  Bretagne
36 Coat of arms of department 36 Indre Châteauroux  Centre
37 Coat of arms of department 37 Indre-et-Loire Tours  Centre
38 Coat of arms of department 38 Isère Grenoble  Rhône-Alpes
39 Coat of arms of department 39 Jura Lons-le-Saunier  Franche-Comté
40 Coat of arms of department 40 Landes Mont-de-Marsan  Aquitaine
41 Coat of arms of department 41 Loir-et-Cher Blois  Centre
42 Coat of arms of department 42 Loire Saint-Étienne  Rhône-Alpes
43 Coat of arms of department 43 Haute-Loire Le Puy-en-Velay  Auvergne
44 Coat of arms of department 44 Loire-Atlantique 6 Nantes  Pays de la Loire
45 Coat of arms of department 45 Loiret Orléans  Centre
46 Coat of arms of department 46 Lot Cahors  Midi-Pyrénées
47 Coat of arms of department 47 Lot-et-Garonne Agen  Aquitaine
48 Coat of arms of department 48 Lozère Mende  Languedoc-Roussillon
49 Coat of arms of department 49 Maine-et-Loire 7 Angers  Pays de la Loire
50 Coat of arms of department 50 Manche Saint-Lô  Basse-Normandie
51 Coat of arms of department 51 Marne Châlons-en-Champagne  Champagne-Ardenne
52 Coat of arms of department 52 Haute-Marne Chaumont  Champagne-Ardenne
53 Coat of arms of department 53 Mayenne Laval  Pays de la Loire
54 Coat of arms of department 54 Meurthe-et-Moselle Nancy  Lorraine
55 Coat of arms of department 55 Meuse Bar-le-Duc  Lorraine
56 Coat of arms of department 56 Morbihan Vannes  Bretagne
57 Coat of arms of department 57 Moselle Metz  Lorraine
58 Coat of arms of department 58 Nièvre Nevers  Bourgogne
59 Coat of arms of department 59 Nord Lille  Nord-Pas-de-Calais
60 Coat of arms of department 60 Oise Beauvais  Picardie
61 Coat of arms of department 61 Orne Alençon  Basse-Normandie
62 Coat of arms of department 62 Pas-de-Calais Arras  Nord-Pas-de-Calais
63 Coat of arms of department 63 Puy-de-Dôme Clermont-Ferrand  Auvergne
64 Coat of arms of department 64 Pyrénées-Atlantiques 8 Pau  Aquitaine
65 Coat of arms of department 65 Hautes-Pyrénées Tarbes  Midi-Pyrénées
66 Coat of arms of department 66 Pyrénées-Orientales Perpignan  Languedoc-Roussillon
67 Coat of arms of department 67 Bas-Rhin Strasbourg  Alsace
68 Coat of arms of department 68 Haut-Rhin Colmar  Alsace
69 Coat of arms of department 69 Rhône Lyon  Rhône-Alpes
70 Coat of arms of department 70 Haute-Saône Vesoul  Franche-Comté
71 Coat of arms of department 71 Saône-et-Loire Mâcon  Bourgogne
72 Coat of arms of department 72 Sarthe Le Mans  Pays de la Loire
73 Coat of arms of department 73 Savoie Chambéry  Rhône-Alpes
74 Coat of arms of department 74 Haute-Savoie Annecy  Rhône-Alpes
75 Coat of arms of department 75 Paris 9 Paris  Île-de-France
76 Coat of arms of department 76 Seine-Maritime 10 Rouen  Haute-Normandie
77 Coat of arms of department 77 Seine-et-Marne Melun  Île-de-France
78 Coat of arms of department 78 Yvelines 11 Versailles  Île-de-France
79 Coat of arms of department 79 Deux-Sèvres Niort  Poitou-Charentes
80 Coat of arms of department 80 Somme Amiens  Picardie
81 Coat of arms of department 81 Tarn Albi  Midi-Pyrénées
82 Coat of arms of department 82 Tarn-et-Garonne Montauban  Midi-Pyrénées
83 Coat of arms of department 83 Var Toulon  Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
84 Coat of arms of department 84 Vaucluse Avignon  Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
85 Coat of arms of department 85 Vendée La Roche-sur-Yon  Pays de la Loire
86 Coat of arms of department 86 Vienne Poitiers  Poitou-Charentes
87 Coat of arms of department 87 Haute-Vienne Limoges  Limousin
88 Coat of arms of department 88 Vosges Épinal  Lorraine
89 Coat of arms of department 89 Yonne Auxerre  Bourgogne
90 Coat of arms of department 90 Territoire de Belfort Belfort  Franche-Comté
91 Coat of arms of department 91 Essonne 12 Évry  Île-de-France
92 Coat of arms of department 92 Hauts-de-Seine 13 Nanterre  Île-de-France
93 Coat of arms of department 93 Seine-Saint-Denis 14 Bobigny  Île-de-France
94 Coat of arms of department 94 Val-de-Marne Créteil  Île-de-France
95 Coat of arms of department 95 Val-d'Oise Pontoise 15  Île-de-France
971 Coat of arms of Guadeloupe Guadeloupe 16 Basse-Terre  Guadeloupe
972 Coat of arms of Martinique Martinique 16 Fort-de-France  Martinique
973 Coat of arms of Guyane Guyane 16 Cayenne  French Guiana
974 Coat of arms of Réunion La Réunion 16 Saint-Denis  Réunion

Notes:

  • ^1 Most of the coats of arms are not official
  • ^2 This department was known as Basses-Alpes until 1970
  • ^3 This department was known as Charente-Inférieure until 1941
  • ^4 This department was known as Côtes-du-Nord until 1990
  • ^5 This department was known as Bec-d'Ambès until 1795
  • ^6 This department was known as Loire-Inférieure until 1957
  • ^7 This department was known as Mayenne-et-Loire until 1791
  • ^8 This department was known as Basses-Pyrénées until 1969
  • ^9 Number 75 was formerly assigned to Seine
  • ^10 This department was known as Seine-Inférieure until 1955
  • ^11 Number 78 was formerly assigned to Seine-et-Oise
  • ^12 Number 91 was formerly assigned to Alger, in French Algeria
  • ^13 Number 92 was formerly assigned to Oran, in French Algeria
  • ^14 Number 93 was formerly assigned to Constantine, in French Algeria
  • ^15 The prefecture of Val-d'Oise was established in Pontoise when the department was created, but moved de facto to the neighbouring commune of Cergy; currently, both part of the ville nouvelle of Cergy-Pontoise
  • ^16 The overseas departments each constitute a region and enjoy a status identical to metropolitan France. They are part of France and the European Union, though special EU rules apply to them.
Regions and departments of metropolitan France; the numbers are those of the first column
The departments in the immediate vicinity of Paris; the numbers are those of the first column

Former departments on the current territory of France

Department Prefecture Dates in existence Notes
Rhône-et-Loire Lyon 1790–1793 Split into Coat of arms of Rhône Rhône and Coat of arms of Loire Loire on 12 August 1793.
Corse Bastia 1790–1793 Split into Golo and Liamone.
Golo Bastia 1793–1811 Reunited with Liamone into Coat of arms of the department of Corse Corse.
Liamone Ajaccio 1793–1811 Reunited with Golo into Coat of arms of the department of Corse Corse.
Mont-Blanc Chambéry 1792–1815 Formed from part of the Flag of the Duchy of Savoy Duchy of Savoy, a territory of the Coat of arms of the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia and was restored to Piedmont-Sardinia after Napoleon's defeat. The department corresponds approximately with the present French departments Coat of arms of the department of Savoie Savoie and Coat of arms of the department of Haute-Savoie Haute-Savoie.
Léman Geneva 1798–1814 Formed when the Coat of arms of Geneva Republic of Geneva was annexed into the First French Empire. Léman became the Swiss canton the Coat of arms of Geneva Republic and Canton of Geneva. The department corresponds with the present Swiss canton and parts of the present French departments Coat of arms of the department of Ain Ain and Coat of arms of the department of Haute-Savoie Haute-Savoie.
Meurthe Nancy 1790–1871 Meurthe ceased to exist following the annexation of Alsace-Lorraine by the Flag of the German Empire German Empire in 1871 and was not recreated after the province was restored to France by the Treaty of Versailles.
Seine Paris 1790–1967 On 1 January 1968, Seine was divided into four new departments: Coat of arms of the department of Paris Paris, Coat of arms of the department of Hauts-de-Seine Hauts-de-Seine, Coat of arms of the department of Seine-Saint-Denis Seine-Saint-Denis and Coat of arms of the department of Val-de-Marne Val-de-Marne, gaining territory from Seine-et-Oise in the process.
Seine-et-Oise Versailles 1790–1967 On 1 January 1968, Seine-et-Oise was divided into three new departments: Coat of arms of the department of Yvelines Yvelines, Coat of arms of the department of Val-d'Oise Val-d'Oise and Coat of arms of the department of Essonne Essonne, with some territory lost to Seine in the process.
Corse Ajaccio 1811–1975 On 15 September 1975, Corse was divided in two, to form Coat of arms of the department of Corse Corse-du-Sud and Coat of arms of the department of Corse Haute-Corse.
Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon Saint-Pierre 1976–1985 Unofficial flag of Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon was an overseas department from 1976 until it was converted to an overseas collectivity on 11 June 1985.

French Algeria

Before 1957
№ Department Prefecture Dates of existence
91 Alger Algiers (1848–1957)
92 Oran Oran (1848–1957)
93 Constantine Constantine (1848–1957)
– Bône Annaba (1955–1957)
Coat of arms of French Algeria
1957–1962
№ Department Prefecture Dates of existence
8A Oasis Ouargla (1957–1962)
8B Saoura Bechar (1957–1962)
9A Alger Algiers (1957–1962)
9B Batna Batna (1957–1962)
9C Bône Annaba (1955–1962)
9D Constantine Constantine (1957–1962)
9E Médéa Medea (1957–1962)
9F Mostaganem Mostaganem (1957–1962)
9G Oran Oran (1957–1962)
9H Orléansville Chlef (1957–1962)
9J Sétif Setif (1957–1962)
9K Tiaret Tiaret (1957–1962)
9L Tizi-Ouzou Tizi Ouzou (1957–1962)
9M Tlemcen Tlemcen (1957–1962)
9N Aumale Sour el Ghozlane (1958–1959)
9P Bougie Bejaia (1958–1962)
9R Saïda Saïda (1958–1962)
Unlike the rest of French-controlled Africa, Algeria was officially incorporated into France from 1848 until its independence in 1962

Former colonies of France

Department Modern-day location Dates in existence
Département du Sud Hispaniola
( Dominican Republic and  Haiti)		 1795–1800
Département de l'Inganne (Mostly in Dominican Republic with eastern part of Haiti) 1795–1800
Département du Nord 1795–1800
Département de l'Ouest 1795–1800
Département de Samana (In Dominican Republic) 1795–1800
Sainte-Lucie  Saint Lucia,  Tobago 1795–1800
Île de France  Mauritius, Flag of Rodrigues Rodrigues,  Seychelles 1795–1800
Indes-Orientales Puducherry, Karikal, Yanaon, Mahé and Chandernagore 1795–1800

Napoleonic Empire

There are a number of former departments in territories conquered by France during the French Revolution and Napoleonic Empire that are now not part of France:

Department Prefecture
(French name)		 Prefecture
(English name)		 Current location¹ Contemporary location² Dates in existence
Mont-Terrible Porrentruy  Switzerland Flag of the Holy Roman Empire Holy Roman Empire:
  • Coat of arms of the Bishopric of Basel Bishopric of Basel³
 1793–1800
Corcyre Corfou Corfu  Greece  Republic of Venice4 1797–1799
Ithaque Argostoli 1797–1798
Mer-Égée Zante Zakynthos 1797–1798
Dyle Bruxelles Brussels  Belgium Flag of the Habsburg dynasty Austrian Netherlands: 1795–1814
Escaut Gand Ghent  Belgium
 Netherlands		 Flag of the Habsburg dynasty Austrian Netherlands:

Flag of the Dutch Republic Dutch Republic:

  • Unofficial flag of Zeelandic Flanders United States of the Zeelandic Flanders
 1795–1814
Forêts Luxembourg  Luxembourg
 Belgium
 Germany		 Flag of the Habsburg dynasty Austrian Netherlands: 1795–1814
Jemmape Mons  Belgium Flag of the Habsburg dynasty Austrian Netherlands:

Flag of the Holy Roman Empire Holy Roman Empire:

  • Coat of arms of the Bishopric of Liège Bishopric of Liège
 1795–1814
Lys Bruges Flag of the Habsburg dynasty Austrian Netherlands: 1795–1814
Meuse-Inférieure Maëstricht Maastricht  Belgium
 Netherlands		 Flag of the Habsburg dynasty Austrian Netherlands:
  • Coat of arms of the Duchy of Guelders Austrian Upper Guelders
  • Coat of arms of the Duchy of Limburg Duchy of Limburg

Flag of the Dutch Republic Dutch Republic:

  • Coat of arms of the Duchy of Guelders Dutch Upper Guelders
  • Flag of Limburg Limburg of the States

Flag of the Holy Roman Empire Holy Roman Empire:

  • Coat of arms of the Bishopric of Liège Bishopric of Liège:
    • Missing coat of arms County of Horne
    • Coat of arms of the County of Loon County of Loon
  • Missing coat of arms Imperial Abbey of Thorn

Flag of Maastricht Maastricht5

 1795–1814
Deux-Nèthes Anvers Antwerp  Belgium Flag of the Habsburg dynasty Austrian Netherlands:

Flag of the Dutch Republic Dutch Republic:

  • Coat of arms of Brabant
    Brabant of the States (after 1810)
 1795–1814
Ourthe Liège  Belgium
 Germany		 Flag of the Habsburg dynasty Austrian Netherlands:

Flag of the Holy Roman Empire Holy Roman Empire:

  • Coat of arms of the Bishopric of Liège Bishopric of Liège
  • Imperial Abbey of Stavelot-Malmedy
 1795–1814
Sambre-et-Meuse Namur  Belgium Flag of the Habsburg dynasty Austrian Netherlands:

Flag of the Holy Roman Empire Holy Roman Empire:

  • Coat of arms of the Bishopric of Liège Bishopric of Liège
 1795–1814
Mont-Tonnerre Mayence Mainz  Germany Flag of the Holy Roman Empire Holy Roman Empire: 1801–1814
Rhin-et-Moselle Coblence Koblenz Flag of the Holy Roman Empire Holy Roman Empire: 1801–1814
Roer Aix-la-Chapelle Aachen  Germany
 Netherlands		 Flag of the Holy Roman Empire Holy Roman Empire: 1801–1814
Sarre Trèves Trier  Belgium
 Germany		 Flag of the Holy Roman Empire Holy Roman Empire: 1801–1814
Doire Ivrée Ivrea  Italy Coat of arms of the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia
  • Flag of the Duchy of Savoy Duchy of Savoy
 1802–1814
Marengo Alexandrie Alessandria 1802–1814
Pô Turin 1802–1814
Sésia Verceil Vercelli 1802–1814
Stura Coni Cuneo 1802–1814
Tanaro6 Asti 1802–1805
Apennins Chiavari Flag of the Republic of Genoa Republic of Genoa7 1805–1814
Gênes Gênes Genoa 1805–1814
Montenotte Savone Savona 1805–1814
Arno Florence Flag of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany Grand Duchy of Tuscany8 1808–1814
Méditerranée Livourne Livorno 1808–1814
Ombrone Sienne Siena 1808–1814
Taro Parme Parma Flag of the Holy Roman Empire Holy Roman Empire:
  • Flag of the Duchy of Parma and Piacenza
    Duchy of Parma & Piacenza
 1808–1814
Rome10 Rome Coat of arms of the Papal States Papal States 1809–1814
Trasimène Spolète Spoleto 1809–1814
Bouches-du-Rhin Bois-le-Duc 's-Hertogenbosch  Netherlands Flag of the Dutch Republic Dutch Republic11:
  • Coat of arms of the Duchy of Brabant
    Batavian Brabant (Brabant of the States)
  • Coat of arms of the Duchy of Guelders Dutch Guelders
 1810–1814
Bouches-de-l'Escaut Middelbourg Middelburg Flag of the Dutch Republic Dutch Republic11: 1810–1814
Simplon Sion  Switzerland Coat of arms of the Valais République des Sept Dizains12 1810–1814
Bouches-de-la-Meuse La Haye The Hague  Netherlands Flag of the Dutch Republic Dutch Republic11:
  • Coat of arms of the County of Holland County of Holland
 1811–1814
Bouches-de-l'Yssel Zwolle Flag of the Dutch Republic Dutch Republic11: 1811–1814
Ems-Occidental Groningue Groningen  Netherlands
 Germany		 Flag of the Dutch Republic Dutch Republic11:
  • Coat of arms of the Duchy of Guelders Dutch Upper Guelders
 1811–1814
Ems-Oriental Aurich  Germany Flag of the Holy Roman Empire Holy Roman Empire: 1811–1814
Frise Leuwarden Leeuwarden  Netherlands Flag of the Dutch Republic Dutch Republic11: 1811–1814
Yssel-Supérieur Arnhem Flag of the Dutch Republic Dutch Republic11:
  • Coat of arms of the Duchy of Guelders Dutch Upper Guelders
 1811–1814
Zuyderzée Amsterdam Flag of the Dutch Republic Dutch Republic11: 1811–1814
Bouches-de-l'Elbe Hamburg Hamburg  Germany Flag of the Holy Roman Empire Holy Roman Empire: 1811–1814
Bouches-du-Weser Brême Bremen Flag of the Holy Roman Empire Holy Roman Empire: 1811–1814
Ems-Supérieur Osnabrück Flag of the Holy Roman Empire Holy Roman Empire:
  • Coat of arms of the Electorate of Hanover Electorate of Hanover
  • Coat of arms of Osnabrück Bishopric of Osnabrück
  • Kingdom of Prussia Kingdom of Prussia:
    • Coat of arms of Lingen
      Town and County of Lingen
    • Coat of arms of Minden Principality of Minden
    • Coat of arms of Ravensberg County of Ravensberg
 1811–1814
Lippe12 Munster Münster Flag of the Holy Roman Empire Holy Roman Empire: 1811–1814
Bouches-de-l'Èbre Lérida Lleida  Spain Kingdom of Spain: 1812–1813
Montserrat Barcelone Barcelona 1812–1813
Sègre Puigcerda Puigcerdà 1812–1813
Ter Gérone Girona 1812–1813
Bouches-de-l'Èbre–Montserrat Barcelone Barcelona Previously the departments of Bouches-de-l'Èbre and Montserrat 1813–1814
Sègre–Ter Gérone Girona Previously the departments of Sègre and Ter 1813–1814

Notes for Table 7:

  1. Where a Napoleonic department was composed of parts from more than one country, the nation-state containing the prefecture is listed. Please expand this table to list all countries containing significant parts of the department.
  2. Territories that were a part of Flag of the Habsburg dynasty Austrian Netherlands were also a part of Flag of the Holy Roman Empire Holy Roman Empire.
  3. The Coat of arms of the Bishopric of Basel Bishopric of Basel was a German Prince-Bishopric, not to be confused with the adjacent Swiss Flag of Basel Canton of Basel.
  4. The territories of the  Republic of Venice were lost to France, becoming the Septinsular Republic, a nominal protectorate of the  Ottoman Empire, from 1800–07. After reverting to France as the Illyrian Provinces, these territories then became a British protectorate, as the Flag of the United States of the Ionian Islands United States of the Ionian Islands
  5. Maastricht was a condominium of the Flag of the Dutch Republic Dutch Republic and the Coat of arms of the Bishopric of Liège Bishopric of Liège.
  6. On 6 June 1805, as a result of the annexation of the Flag of the Republic of Genoa Ligurian Republic (the puppet successor state to the Flag of the Republic of Genoa Republic of Genoa), Tanaro was abolished and its territory divided between the departments of Marengo, Montenotte and Stura.
  7. Before becoming the department of Apennins, the Flag of the Republic of Genoa Republic of Genoa was converted to a puppet successor state, the Flag of the Republic of Genoa Ligurian Republic.
  8. Before becoming the department of Arno, the Flag of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany Grand Duchy of Tuscany was converted to a puppet successor state, the Flag of the Kingdom of Etruria Kingdom of Etruria.
  9. Rome was known as the department du Tibre until 1810.
  10. Before becoming the departments of Bouches-du-Rhin, Bouches-de-l'Escaut, Bouches-de-la-Meuse, Bouches-de-l'Yssel, Ems-Occidental, Frise, Yssel-Supérieur and Zuyderzée, these territories of the Flag of the Dutch Republic Dutch Republic were converted to a puppet successor state, the Batavian Republic (1795–1806), then those territories that had not already been annexed (all except the first two departments here), along with the Prussian Flag of the County of East Frisia County of East Frisia, were converted to another puppet state, the Flag of the Netherlands Kingdom of Holland.
  11. Before becoming the department of Simplon, the Coat of arms of the Valais République des Sept Dizains was converted to a revolutionary République du Valais (16 March 1798) which was swiftly incorporated (1 May 1798) into the puppet Flag of the Helvetic Republic Helvetic Republic until 1802 when it became the independent Rhodanic Republic.
  12. In the months before Lippe was formed, the arrondissements of Rees and Münster were part of Yssel-Supérieur, the arrondissement of Steinfurt was part of Bouches-de-l'Yssel and the arrondissement of Neuenhaus was part of Ems-Occidental.

References

  1. ↑ Lexpress.fr
  2. ↑ This is stated in the title of the section dealing with "Decision 260" on page 197 of the Report of the Attali Commission (French)
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Les 20 propositions du Comité (20 propositions of the Committee)" (in French). Committee for the reform of local authorities. http://reformedescollectiviteslocales.fr/actualites/index.php?id=75. Retrieved 2009-11-11. 

See also

Articles on second-level administrative divisions of European countries

Albania · Armenia2 · Austria · Belgium · Bosnia and Herzegovina · Bulgaria · Croatia · Czech Republic · Denmark · Estonia · Finland · France · Georgia3 · Germany · Greece · Hungary · Iceland · Italy · Kazakhstan · Latvia · Lithuania · Luxembourg · Malta · Moldova · Netherlands · Norway · Poland · Portugal · Romania · Russia · Serbia · Slovakia · Slovenia · Spain · Sweden · Switzerland · Turkey · Ukraine · United Kingdom

1 Has part of its territory outside Europe. 2 Entirely in West Asia, but considered European for cultural, political and historical reasons. 3 Partially or entirely in Asia, depending on the definition of the border. 4 Partially recognised.
Table of administrative country subdivisions by country