Regions of France















































Region
Région  (French)


Category
Unitary state
Location
French Republic
Number
18
Possible status
Overseas region (5)
Région d'outre-mer
Additional status
Territorial collectivity
Collectivité Territoriale
Populations
212,645 (Mayotte) – 12,005,077 (Île-de-France)
Areas
376 km2 (145 sq mi) (Mayotte) – 84,061 km2 (32,456 sq mi) (Nouvelle-Aquitaine)
Government
Region Government, National Government
Subdivisions
Department






















France is divided into 18 administrative regions (French: région, [ʁeʒjɔ̃]), including 13 metropolitan regions and 5 overseas regions.[1] The 13 metropolitan regions (including 12 mainland regions and Corsica) are each further subdivided into 2 to 13 departments, while the overseas regions consist of only one department each and hence are also referred to as "overseas departments". The current legal concept of region was adopted in 1982, and in 2016 what had been 27 regions was reduced to 18.




Contents






  • 1 History


    • 1.1 Reform and mergers of regions


      • 1.1.1 Overview of region division proposals






  • 2 Regions and their capitals


    • 2.1 Regions from 1982 to 2016




  • 3 Role


    • 3.1 Regional control




  • 4 Overseas regions


  • 5 See also


  • 6 References


  • 7 External links





History



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] In 2016, the number of regions was reduced from 27 to 18 through mergers.



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.[3]







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.[4][5] 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.[6]
Two regions, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, opted to retain their interim names.[7][8]






Regions that merged:






























































Former region

New region (interim name)

New region (final name)


Burgundy
Bourgogne-Franche-Comté

Bourgogne-Franche-Comté

Franche-Comté


Aquitaine
Aquitaine-Limousin-Poitou-Charentes

Nouvelle-Aquitaine

Limousin

Poitou-Charentes


Lower Normandy
Normandy

Normandy

Upper Normandy


Alsace
Alsace-Champagne-Ardenne-Lorraine

Grand Est

Champagne-Ardenne

Lorraine


Languedoc-Roussillon
Languedoc-Roussillon-Midi-Pyrénées

Occitanie

Midi-Pyrénées


Nord-Pas-de-Calais
Nord-Pas-de-Calais-Picardie

Hauts-de-France

Picardy


Auvergne
Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes

Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes

Rhône-Alpes


Regions that remained unchanged:

















































Brittany


Centre-Val de Loire


Corsica


French Guiana


Guadeloupe


Île-de-France


Martinique


Mayotte


Pays de la Loire


Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur


Réunion



Overview of region division proposals




Regions and their capitals


















































































































































































Regions of France
Region
French name
Other local name(s)
Capital

INSEE No.[9]

Derivation or etymology

President

Grand Est

Grand Est

German: Großer Osten

Strasbourg
44
The name translates to "Great East," encompassing the three northeastern former regions of Alsace, Champagne-Ardenne, and Lorraine, themselves inspired by former French provinces disbanded in 1790

Jean Rottner (LR)

Nouvelle-Aquitaine

Nouvelle-Aquitaine

Occitan: Nòva Aquitània / Nava Aquitània / Novela Aquitània
Basque: Akitania Berria


Bordeaux
75
Reflects an expanded, or "new," Aquitaine region, which merged with the regions of Limousin and Poitou-Charentes; Aquitaine (later known as Guyenne), Limousin, and Poitou were historic French provinces abolished in 1790

Alain Rousset (PS)

Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes

Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes

Occitan: Auvèrnhe-Ròse-Aups
Arpitan: Ôvèrgne-Rôno-Arpes

Lyon
84
This region is a merger of the former regions of Auvergne and Rhône-Alpes; these were named, respectively, after the historic province of Auvergne abolished in 1790 and after the former region's position along the Rhône river and in the Alps

Laurent Wauquiez (LR)

Bourgogne-Franche-Comté

Bourgogne-Franche-Comté

Arpitan: Borgogne-Franche-Comtât

Dijon
27
The region is a merger of the former regions of Burgundy and Franche-Comté; these regions were themselves based on French provinces disbanded in 1790

Marie-Guite Dufay (PS)

Brittany

Bretagne

Breton: Breizh
Gallo: Bertaèyn

Rennes
53
The region covers 80% of the former province of Brittany, abolished 1790. Nantes, the historic capital, is now in Pays de la Loire (see below).

Loïg Chesnais-Girard (PS)

Centre-Val de Loire[10]

Centre-Val de Loire


Orléans
24
Translating to "Centre–Loire Valley," the region has no historic basis, but is geographically located in north-central France and straddles the middle of the Loire Valley

François Bonneau (PS)

Île-de-France

Île-de-France


Paris
11
The modern region encompasses much of the former province of Île-de-France, abolished 1790

Valérie Pécresse (LR)

Occitanie

Occitanie

Occitan: Occitània
Catalan: Occitània

Toulouse
76
Encompasses much of the southern areas of France where Occitan, or langue d'oc, dialects are spoken; is a merger of the Languedoc-Roussillon and Midi-Pyrénées regions. Languedoc and Roussillon were historic provinces dissolved in 1790; the Midi refers to southern France, and Pyrénées to the region's position in this mountain range

Carole Delga (PS)

Hauts-de-France

Hauts-de-France


Lille
32
Occupying the northern tip of the country, this region's name translates to "Upper France." It is a merger of the former regions of Nord-Pas-de-Calais and Picardy, which recalled a province of France abolished in 1790

Xavier Bertrand (LR)

Normandy

Normandie

Norman: Normaundie

Rouen
28
The region is largely coterminous with the former province of Normandy, abolished 1790; it is a merger of the former regions of Upper Normandy and Lower Normandy

Hervé Morin (LC)

Pays de la Loire

Pays de la Loire

Breton: Broioù al Liger

Nantes
52
The name translates to "Land(s) of the Loire," as the Loire river is the major waterway in the area; the region has no historic basis, but was created as a zone of influence for the city of Nantes, the historic capital of Brittany.

Christelle Morançais (LR)

Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (PACA)

Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (PACA)

Provençal: Provença-Aups-Còsta d'Azur
(Prouvènço-Aup-Costo d'Azur)

Marseille
93
Consists of the former province of Provence, dissolved in 1790, as well as some adjacent territories in the French Alps and along the French Riviera (Côte d'Azur)

Renaud Muselier (LR)

Corsica

Corse

Corsican: Corsica

Ajaccio
94
The region is composed entirely of the island of Corsica, a French territorial collectivity that has belonged to France since 1768

Jean-Guy Talamoni (CL), Gilles Simeoni (Inseme per a Corsica)

The following five overseas departments also have the special status of overseas region.

French Guiana

Guyane


Cayenne
03

Overseas region

Rodolphe Alexandre (PSG)

Guadeloupe

Guadeloupe

Antillean Creole: Gwadloup

Basse-Terre
01

Overseas region

Ary Chalus (GUSR)

Martinique

Martinique

Antillean Creole: Matinik

Fort-de-France
02

Overseas region

Claude Lise (RDM), Alfred Marie-Jeanne (MIM)

Mayotte

Mayotte

Shimaore: Maore
Malagasy: Mahori

Mamoudzou
06

Overseas region

Soibahadine Ibrahim Ramadani (LR)

Réunion

La Réunion

Reunion Creole: La Rényon

Saint-Denis
04

Overseas region

Didier Robert (LR)


Regions from 1982 to 2016


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.














































































































































































































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


French regional elections 1986.svg

1992
4

21
1

French regional elections 1992.svg

1998
10

15
1

French regional elections 1998.svg

































Elections
Presidencies
Map


  Left



  Right



  Other


2004

23
2
1

French regional elections 2004.svg

2010

23
3


French regional elections 2010.svg

2015
7

8
2

French regional elections 2015 2nd Round.svg



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:



  • in the Indian Ocean (Africa)

    • Mayotte

    • Réunion



  • in the Americas


    • French Guiana in South America


    • Guadeloupe in the Antilles (Caribbean, Central America)


    • Martinique in the Antilles (Caribbean, Central America)





Saint Pierre and Miquelon (off Canada, in North America), once an overseas department, was demoted to a territorial collectivity in 1985.





France-Constituent-Lands.png


Outre-mer en sans Terre Adelie.png



See also




  • Ranked list of French regions

  • Administrative divisions of France

  • List of French regions and overseas collectivities by GDP

  • List of regions of France by population

  • Flags of the regions of France

  • ISO 3166-2:FR


General:



  • Decentralisation in France

  • Budget of France

  • Regional councils of France

  • Administrative divisions of France


Overseas


  • Outremer

  • Overseas collectivity

  • Overseas department

  • Overseas departments and territories of France



References





  1. ^ ab "Carte des Régions" (in French). INSEE. Retrieved 2009-09-29..mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}


  2. ^ Jean-Marie Miossec (2009), Géohistoire de la régionalisation en France, Paris: Presses universitaires de France
    ISBN 978-2-13-056665-6.



  3. ^ La carte à 13 régions définitivement adoptée, Le Monde, 17 December 2014, accessed 2 January 2015


  4. ^ Quel nom pour la nouvelle région ? Vous avez choisi..., Sud-Ouest, 4 December 2014, accessed 2 January 2015


  5. ^ "Nouveau nom de la région : dernier jour de vote, Occitanie en tête". midilibre.fr.


  6. ^ "Journal officiel of 17 January 2015". Légifrance (in French). 2015-01-17. Retrieved 2015-03-10.


  7. ^ "Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes : fini la consultation, Laurent Wauquiez a tranché - Place Gre'net". placegrenet.fr. 31 May 2016.


  8. ^ "Région Bourgogne-Franche-Comté". www.bourgognefranchecomte.fr.


  9. ^ "La nouvelle nomenclature des codes régions" (in French). INSEE. Retrieved 17 January 2016.


  10. ^ ab New name as of 17 January 2015; formerly named Centre.


  11. ^ These flags are not official.




External links




  • Regions of France at Curlie (based on DMOZ)

  • Guide to the regions of France

  • Local websites by region


  • Will 2010 regional elections lead to political shake-up? Radio France Internationale in English


Overseas regions


  • Ministère de l'Outre-Mer

  • some explanations about the past and current developments of DOMs and TOMs (in French)













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