Departments of France

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

Main article

Regions (incl. overseas regions)

Departments (incl. overseas departments)

Arrondissements

Cantons

Intercommunality Urban communities Agglomeration communities Commune communities Syndicates of New Agglomeration

Communes Associated communes Municipal arrondissements

Others in Overseas France Overseas collectivities Sui generis collectivity Overseas country Overseas territory Clipperton Island

In the administrative division of France, the department (French: département, pronounced: [depaʁtəmɑ̃]) is one of the three levels of government below the national level (“territorial collectivities”), between the region and the commune. There are 96 departments in metropolitan France and 5 overseas departments, which also are classified as regions. Departments are further subdivided into 342 arrondissements, themselves divided into cantons; the latter two have no autonomy and are used for the organisation of public services and sometimes elections.

France's departments are administered by elected general councils (conseil général) and their presidents, whose main areas of responsibility include the management of a number of social and welfare allowances, of junior high school (collège) buildings and technical staff, of local roads and school and rural buses, and a contribution to municipal infrastructures. Local services of the State administration are traditionally organised at departmental level, where the prefect represents the government; however, regions have gained importance in this regard since the 2000s, with some department-level services merged into region-level services.

The departments were created in 1791 as a rational replacement of Ancien Régime provinces in view of strengthening national unity; almost all of them are therefore named after rivers, mountains or coasts rather than after historical or cultural territories, unlike regions, and some of them are commonly referred to by their two-digit postal code number, which was until recently used for all vehicle registration plates. They have inspired similar divisions in many of France’s former colonies.

History

Geometrical proposition rejected

The former provinces (colours) and the departements (limits in black)

The first French territorial departments were proposed in 1665 by Marc-René d'Argenson to serve as administrative areas purely for the Ponts et Chaussées (Bridges and Highways) infrastructure administration.

Before the French Revolution, France gained territory gradually through the annexation of a mosaic of 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.

The modern departments, as all-purpose units of the government, were created on 4 March 1790 by the National Constituent Assembly to replace the provinces with what the Assembly deemed a more rational structure. Their boundaries served two purposes:

• Boundaries were deliberately chosen to break up France's historical regions in an attempt to erase cultural differences and build a more homogeneous nation.
• Boundaries were set so that any settlement in the country was within a day's ride of the capital of the department. This was a security measure, intended to keep the entire national territory under close control. This measure was directly inspired by the Great Terror, during which the government had lost control of many rural areas far from any centre of government.

1812: Departments at the maximum extent of the First Empire

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 1809 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 remained French, however, 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 Île-de-France (1968) and the division of Corsica (1975) added six more departments, raising the total to 96. Counting the five overseas departments (French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Réunion and Mayotte) the total comes to 101 departments. In 2011, the overseas collectivity of Mayotte became the 101st department.

General characteristics

Population density in the departments at the census of 1968 (people/km²)

The departmental seat of government is known as the prefecture (préfecture) or chef-lieu de département 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 executive of a department was the prefect (préfet) who represents the Government of France in each department and is appointed by 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 the overseas territories, some communes play a role at departmental level. Paris, the country’s capital city, is a commune as well as a department.

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 & Wales 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 & Wales. Most of the departments have an area of between 4,000 and 8,000 km², and a population between 320,000 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 "98" 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 three digits, e.g. 971 for Guadeloupe (see table below).

Party-political preferences

These maps cannot be used as a useful resource of voter preferences, because General Councils are elected on a two-round system, which drastically limits the chances of fringe parties, for as long as they are not supported on one of the two rounds by a moderate party. After the 1992 election, the left had a majority in only 21 of the 100 departments; after the 2011 election, the left dominated 61 of the 100 departments (Mayotte only became a department after the election).

• 

  Party affiliation of the General Council Presidents of the various departments in the cantonal elections of 1998.

• 

  Party affiliation of the General Council Presidents of the various departments in the elections of 2001.

• 

  Party affiliation of the General Council Presidents of the various departments in the elections of 2004.

• 

  Party affiliation of the General Council Presidents of the various departments in the elections of 2008.

• 

  Party affiliation of the General Council Presidents of the various departments in the elections of 2011.

Key to the parties:

• Divers Centre = Independents of the Centre or Democratic Movement (Mouvement démocrate)
• Divers Droite (DVD) = Independent conservatives
• Divers Gauche (DVG) = Independent left-wing politicians
• MPF = Movement for France (Mouvement pour la France) (right)
• Nouveau Centre = New Centre (centre or centre-right)
• PCF = French Communist Party (Parti Communiste Français)
• PRG = Radical Party of the Left (Parti Radical de Gauche)
• PS = Socialist Party (Parti Socialiste)
• UDF = Union for French Democracy (Union pour la Démocratie Française) succeeded by Democratic Movement
• UMP = Union for a Popular Movement (Union pour un Mouvement Populaire)

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 Balladur Committee has not retained this proposition and does not advocate the disappearance of the 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]

Maps and tables

Current departments

Each department has a coat of arms with which they are commonly associated, but not all are officially recognized or used. In some departments they are used, but in others a logo or emblem is used.

INSEE code Arms 1 Department Prefecture Region 01 Ain Bourg-en-Bresse  Rhône-Alpes 02 Aisne Laon  Picardie 03 Allier Moulins  Auvergne 04 Alpes-de-Haute-Provence 2 Digne-les-Bains  Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur 05 Hautes-Alpes Gap  Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur 06 Alpes-Maritimes Nice  Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur 07 Ardeche !Ardèche Privas  Rhône-Alpes 08 Ardennes Charleville-Mezieres !Charleville-Mézières  Champagne-Ardenne 09 Ariege !Ariège Foix  Midi-Pyrénées 10 Aube Troyes  Champagne-Ardenne 11 Aude Carcassonne  Languedoc-Roussillon 12 Aveyron Rodez  Midi-Pyrénées 13 Bouches-Du-Rhone !Bouches-du-Rhône Marseille  Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur 14 Calvados Caen  Basse-Normandie 15 Cantal Aurillac  Auvergne 16 Charente Angouleme !Angoulême  Poitou-Charentes 17 Charente-Maritime 3 La Rochelle  Poitou-Charentes 18 Cher Bourges  Centre 19 Correze !Corrèze Tulle  Limousin 2A Corse-du-Sud Ajaccio  Corse 2B Haute-Corse Bastia  Corse 21 Cote-Dor !Côte-d'Or Dijon  Bourgogne 22 Cotes-Darmor !Côtes-d'Armor 4 Saint-Brieuc  Bretagne 23 Creuse Gueret !Guéret  Limousin 24 Dordogne Perigueux !Périgueux  Aquitaine 25 Doubs Besancon !Besançon  Franche-Comté 26 Drome !Drôme Valence  Rhône-Alpes 27 Eure Evreux !Évreux  Haute-Normandie 28 Eure-et-Loir Chartres  Centre 29 Finistere !Finistère Quimper  Bretagne 30 Gard Nimes !Nîmes  Languedoc-Roussillon 31 Haute-Garonne Toulouse  Midi-Pyrénées 32 Gers Auch  Midi-Pyrénées 33 Gironde 5 Bordeaux  Aquitaine 34 Herault !Hérault Montpellier  Languedoc-Roussillon 35 Ille-et-Vilaine Rennes  Bretagne 36 Indre Chateauroux !Châteauroux  Centre 37 Indre-et-Loire Tours  Centre 38 Isere !Isère Grenoble  Rhône-Alpes 39 Jura Lons-le-Saunier  Franche-Comté 40 Landes Mont-de-Marsan  Aquitaine 41 Loir-et-Cher Blois  Centre 42 Loire Saint-Etienne !Saint-Étienne  Rhône-Alpes 43 Haute-Loire Le Puy-en-Velay  Auvergne 44 Loire-Atlantique 6 Nantes  Pays de la Loire 45 Loiret Orleans !Orléans  Centre 46 Lot Cahors  Midi-Pyrénées 47 Lot-et-Garonne Agen  Aquitaine 48 Lozere !Lozère Mende  Languedoc-Roussillon 49 Maine-et-Loire 7 Angers  Pays de la Loire 50 Manche Saint-Lo !Saint-Lô  Basse-Normandie 51 Marne Chalons-en-Champagne !Châlons-en-Champagne  Champagne-Ardenne 52 Haute-Marne Chaumont  Champagne-Ardenne 53 Mayenne Laval  Pays de la Loire 54 Meurthe-et-Moselle Nancy  Lorraine 55 Meuse Bar-le-Duc  Lorraine 56 Morbihan Vannes  Bretagne 57 Moselle Metz  Lorraine 58 Nievre !Nièvre Nevers  Bourgogne 59 Nord Lille  Nord-Pas-de-Calais 60 Oise Beauvais  Picardie 61 Orne Alencon !Alençon  Basse-Normandie 62 Pas-de-Calais Arras  Nord-Pas-de-Calais 63 Puy-de-Dome !Puy-de-Dôme Clermont-Ferrand  Auvergne 64 Pyrenees-Atlantiques !Pyrénées-Atlantiques 8 Pau  Aquitaine 65 Hautes-Pyrenees !Hautes-Pyrénées Tarbes  Midi-Pyrénées 66 Pyrenees-Orientales !Pyrénées-Orientales Perpignan  Languedoc-Roussillon 67 Bas-Rhin Strasbourg  Alsace 68 Haut-Rhin Colmar  Alsace 69 Rhone !Rhône Lyon  Rhône-Alpes 70 Haute-Saone !Haute-Saône Vesoul  Franche-Comté 71 Saone-et-Loire !Saône-et-Loire Macon !Mâcon  Bourgogne 72 Sarthe Le Mans  Pays de la Loire 73 Savoie Chambery !Chambéry  Rhône-Alpes 74 Haute-Savoie Annecy  Rhône-Alpes 75 Paris 9 Paris  Île-de-France 76 Seine-Maritime 10 Rouen  Haute-Normandie 77 Seine-et-Marne Melun  Île-de-France 78 Yvelines 11 Versailles  Île-de-France 79 Deux-Sevres !Deux-Sèvres Niort  Poitou-Charentes 80 Somme Amiens  Picardie 81 Tarn Albi  Midi-Pyrénées 82 Tarn-et-Garonne Montauban  Midi-Pyrénées 83 Var Toulon  Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur 84 Vaucluse Avignon  Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur 85 Vendee !Vendée La Roche-sur-Yon  Pays de la Loire 86 Vienne Poitiers  Poitou-Charentes 87 Haute-Vienne Limoges  Limousin 88 Vosges Epinal !Épinal  Lorraine 89 Yonne Auxerre  Bourgogne 90 Territoire de Belfort Belfort  Franche-Comté 91 Essonne 12 Evry !Évry  Île-de-France 92 Hauts-de-Seine 13 Nanterre  Île-de-France 93 Seine-Saint-Denis 14 Bobigny  Île-de-France 94 Val-de-Marne Créteil  Île-de-France 95 Val-d'Oise Pontoise 15  Île-de-France 971 Guadeloupe 16 Basse-Terre  Guadeloupe 972 Martinique 16 Fort-de-France  Martinique 973 Guyane 16 Cayenne  French Guiana 974 Reunion !La Réunion 16 Saint-Denis  Réunion 976 Mayotte 17 Mamoudzou  Mayotte 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. ^17 Mayotte became the 101st department of France on 31 March 2011. The INSEE code of Mayotte is 976 (975 is already assigned to the French overseas collectivity of Saint Pierre and Miquelon)

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

Former departments of the current territory of France

Department	Prefecture	Dates in existence
Rhône-et-Loire	Lyon	1790–1793	Split into Rhône and Loire on 12 August 1793.
Corse	Bastia	1790–1793	Split into Golo and Liamone.
Golo	Bastia	1793–1811	Reunited with Liamone into Corse.
Liamone	Ajaccio	1793–1811	Reunited with Golo into Corse.
Mont-Blanc	Chambéry	1792–1815	Formed from part of the Duchy of Savoy, a territory of the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia and was restored to Piedmont-Sardinia after Napoleon's defeat. The department corresponds approximately with the present French departments Savoie and Haute-Savoie.
Léman	Geneva	1798–1814	Formed when the Republic of Geneva was annexed into the First French Empire. Léman became the Swiss canton the Republic and Canton of Geneva. The department corresponds with the present Swiss canton and parts of the present French departments Ain and Haute-Savoie.
Meurthe	Nancy	1790–1871	Meurthe ceased to exist following the annexation of Alsace-Lorraine by the 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: Paris, Hauts-de-Seine, Seine-Saint-Denis, and Val-de-Marne (the last incorporating a small amount of territory from Seine-et-Oise as well).
Seine-et-Oise	Versailles	1790–1967	On 1 January 1968, Seine-et-Oise was divided into four new departments: Yvelines, Val-d'Oise, Essonne, Val-de-Marne (the last largely comprising territory from Seine).
Corse	Ajaccio	1811–1975	On 15 September 1975, Corse was divided in two, to form Corse-du-Sud and Haute-Corse.
Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon	Saint-Pierre	1976–1985	Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon was an overseas department from 1976 until it was converted to an overseas collectivity on 11 June 1985.

Departments of French Algeria

The three Algerian departments in 1848

Departments of French Algeria from 1957 to 1962

Unlike the rest of French-controlled Africa, Algeria was officially incorporated into France from 1848 until its independence in 1962.

Departments in former French colonies

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, Rodrigues,  Seychelles	1795–1800
Indes-Orientales	Pondichéry, Karikal, Yanaon, Mahé and Chandernagore	1795–1800

Departments of the Napoleonic Empire in Europe

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	Holy Roman Empire: Prince-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	Austrian Netherlands: Duchy of Brabant County of Hainaut	1795–1814
Escaut	Gand	Ghent	Belgium  Netherlands	Austrian Netherlands: County of Flanders Dutch Republic: United States of the Zeelandic Flanders	1795–1814
Forêts	Luxembourg		Luxembourg  Belgium  Germany	Austrian Netherlands: Duchy of Bouillon Duchy of Luxembourg	1795–1814
Jemmape	Mons		Belgium	Austrian Netherlands: County of Hainaut Lordship of Tournai County of Namur Holy Roman Empire: Bishopric of Liège	1795–1814
Lys	Bruges			Austrian Netherlands: County of Flanders	1795–1814
Meuse-Inférieure	Maëstricht	Maastricht	Belgium  Netherlands	Austrian Netherlands: Austrian Upper Guelders Duchy of Limburg Dutch Republic: Dutch Upper Guelders Limburg of the States Holy Roman Empire: Bishopric of Liège: County of Horne County of Loon Imperial Abbey of Thorn Maastricht5	1795–1814
Deux-Nèthes	Anvers	Antwerp	Belgium	Austrian Netherlands: Duchy of Brabant Dutch Republic: Brabant of the States (after 1810)	1795–1814
Ourthe	Liège		Belgium  Germany	Austrian Netherlands: Duchy of Brabant Duchy of Limburg Duchy of Luxembourg County of Namur Holy Roman Empire: Bishopric of Liège Imperial Abbey of Stavelot-Malmedy	1795–1814
Sambre-et-Meuse	Namur		Belgium	Austrian Netherlands: Duchy of Brabant Duchy of Luxembourg Holy Roman Empire: Bishopric of Liège	1795–1814
Mont-Tonnerre	Mayence	Mainz	Germany	Holy Roman Empire: Archbishopric of Mainz Electorate of the Palatinate Bishopric of Speyer	1801–1814
Rhin-et-Moselle	Coblence	Koblenz		Holy Roman Empire: Archbishopric of Cologne Electorate of the Palatinate Archbishopric of Trier	1801–1814
Roer	Aix-la-Chapelle	Aachen	Germany  Netherlands	Holy Roman Empire: Free Imperial City of Aachen Archbishopric of Cologne Electorate of the Palatinate: Grand Duchy of Berg Duchy of Jülich Kingdom of Prussia: Prussian Guelders Imperial Free City of Wesel (after 1805)	1801–1814
Sarre	Trèves	Trier	Belgium  Germany	Holy Roman Empire: Electorate of the Palatinate: County of Veldenz Duchy of Zweibrücken Archbishopric of Trier	1801–1814
Doire	Ivrée	Ivrea	Italy	Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia 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			Republic of Genoa7	1805–1814
Gênes	Gênes	Genoa			1805–1814
Montenotte	Savone	Savona			1805–1814
Arno	Florence			Grand Duchy of Tuscany8	1808–1814
Méditerranée	Livourne	Livorno			1808–1814
Ombrone	Sienne	Siena			1808–1814
Taro	Parme	Parma		Holy Roman Empire: Duchy of Parma & Piacenza	1808–1814
Rome10	Rome			Papal States	1809–1814
Trasimène	Spolète	Spoleto			1809–1814
Bouches-du-Rhin	Bois-le-Duc	's-Hertogenbosch	Netherlands	Dutch Republic:11 Batavian Brabant (Brabant of the States) Dutch Guelders	1810–1814
Bouches-de-l'Escaut	Middelbourg	Middelburg		Dutch Republic:11 County of Zeeland	1810–1814
Simplon	Sion		Switzerland	République des Sept Dizains12	1810–1814
Bouches-de-la-Meuse	La Haye	The Hague	Netherlands	Dutch Republic:11 County of Holland	1811–1814
Bouches-de-l'Yssel	Zwolle			Dutch Republic:11 Overijssel	1811–1814
Ems-Occidental	Groningue	Groningen	Netherlands  Germany	Dutch Republic:11 Dutch Upper Guelders	1811–1814
Ems-Oriental	Aurich		Germany	Holy Roman Empire: Kingdom of Prussia: County of East Frisia11	1811–1814
Frise	Leuwarden	Leeuwarden	Netherlands	Dutch Republic:11 Friesland	1811–1814
Yssel-Supérieur	Arnhem			Dutch Republic:11 Dutch Upper Guelders	1811–1814
Zuyderzée	Amsterdam			Dutch Republic:11 County of Holland Lordship of Utrecht	1811–1814
Bouches-de-l'Elbe	Hamburg	Hamburg	Germany	Holy Roman Empire: Free Hanseatic City of Hamburg Electorate of Hanover Free Hanseatic City of Lübeck	1811–1814
Bouches-du-Weser	Brême	Bremen		Holy Roman Empire: Free Hanseatic City of Bremen Electorate of Hanover Duchy of Oldenburg	1811–1814
Ems-Supérieur	Osnabrück			Holy Roman Empire: Electorate of Hanover Bishopric of Osnabrück Kingdom of Prussia: Town and County of Lingen Principality of Minden County of Ravensberg	1811–1814
Lippe12	Munster	Münster		Holy Roman Empire: Bishopric of Münster Electorate of the Palatinate: Grand Duchy of Berg	1811–1814
Bouches-de-l'Èbre	Lérida	Lleida	Spain	Kingdom of Spain: Catalonia	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 Austrian Netherlands were also a part of Holy Roman Empire.
3. The Bishopric of Basel was a German Prince-Bishopric, not to be confused with the adjacent Swiss 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 United States of the Ionian Islands
5. Maastricht was a condominium of the Dutch Republic and the Bishopric of Liège.
6. On 6 June 1805, as a result of the annexation of the Ligurian Republic (the puppet successor state to the 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 Republic of Genoa was converted to a puppet successor state, the Ligurian Republic.
8. Before becoming the department of Arno, the Grand Duchy of Tuscany was converted to a puppet successor state, the 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 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 County of East Frisia, were converted to another puppet state, the Kingdom of Holland.
11. Before becoming the department of Simplon, the 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 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.

See also

Book: French departements

• 130 departments of the First French Empire
• ISO 3166-2:FR

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Departments of France.