Regions of France

Region; Région (French);
	; ; ; ; Hauts-de-; France; ; ; ; Normandy; ; ; ; Île-de-; France; ; ; ; Grand Est; ; ; ; Bourgogne-; Franche-; Comté; ; ; ; Centre-; Val de Loire; ; ; ; Pays de ; la Loire; ; ; ; Brittany; ; ; ; Nouvelle-; Aquitaine; ; ; ; Auvergne-; Rhône-Alpes; ; ; ; Occitanie; ; ; ; Provence-; Alpes-; Côte d'Azur; ; ; ; Corsica; ; French Guiana; Guadeloupe; Martinique; Mayotte; Réunion; Belgium; Luxembourg; Germany; Switzerland; Italy; United Kingdom; Andorra; Brazil; Suriname; Spain; Channel; Bay of; Biscay; Ligurian; Sea; Mediterranean; Sea; ;
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.

History[edit]

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[edit]

In 2014, the French parliament passed a law reducing the number of metropolitan regions from 22 to 13 effective 1 January 2016.^[3]

Nord-Pas
de Calais

Picardy

Upper
Normandy

Île-de-
France

Champagne-
Ardenne

Lorraine

Alsace

Franche-
Comté

Burgundy

Centre-
Val de Loire

Pays de la
Loire

Brittany

Lower
Normandy

Poitou-
Charentes

Limousin

Auvergne

Rhône-
Alpes

Aquitaine

Midi-Pyrénées

Languedoc-
Roussillon

PACA

Corsica

French Guiana

Guadeloupe

Martinique

Mayotte

Réunion

Belgium

Luxembourg

Germany

Switzerland

Italy

United Kingdom

Andorra

Brazil

Suriname

Spain

Monaco

Channel

Bay of
Biscay

Ligurian
Sea

Mediterranean
Sea

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[edit]

Édouard Balladur's proposal

Manuel Valls's proposal A

Manuel Valls's proposal B

President François Hollande's proposal

Regions as instituted by the National Assembly in 2014

Regions and their capitals[edit]

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[edit]

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.

Regions in Metropolitan France between 1982 and 2015
Region	French name	Other local name(s)	Capital	INSEE No.^[1]	Derivation or etymology
Alsace	Alsace	Alsatian: Elsàss German: Elsass	Strasbourg	42	Formerly a coalition of free cities in Holy Roman Empire, attached to Kingdom of France in 1648; annexed by Germany from Franco-Prussian war to the end of World War I and briefly during World War II
Aquitaine	Aquitaine	Occitan: Aquitània Basque: Akitania Saintongeais : Aguiéne	Bordeaux	72	Guyenne and Gascony
Auvergne	Auvergne	Occitan: Auvèrnhe / Auvèrnha	Clermont-Ferrand	83	Former province of Auvergne
Brittany	Bretagne	Breton: Breizh Gallo: Bertaèyn	Rennes	53	Duchy of Brittany
Burgundy	Bourgogne	Burgundian: Bregogne / Borgoégne Arpitan: Borgogne	Dijon	26	Duchy of Burgundy
Centre-Val de Loire^[10]	Centre-Val de Loire		Orléans	24	Located in north-central France; straddles the middle of the Loire Valley
Champagne-Ardenne	Champagne-Ardenne		Châlons-en- Champagne	21	Former province of Champagne
Franche-Comté	Franche-Comté	Franc-Comtois: Fràntche-Comté Arpitan: Franche-Comtât	Besançon	43	Free County of Burgundy (Franche-Comté)
Île-de-France	Île-de-France		Paris	11	Province of Île-de-France and parts of the former province of Champagne
Languedoc-Roussillon	Languedoc-Roussillon	Occitan: Lengadòc-Rosselhon Catalan: Llenguadoc-Rosselló	Montpellier	91	Former provinces of Languedoc and Roussillon
Limousin	Limousin	Occitan: Lemosin	Limoges	74	Former province of Limousin and parts of Marche, Berry, Auvergne, Poitou and Angoumois
Lorraine	Lorraine	German: Lothringen Lorraine Franconian: Lottringe	Metz	41	Named for Charlemagne's son Lothair I, the kingdom of Lotharingia is etymologically the source for the name Lorraine (duchy), Lothringen (German), Lottringe (Lorraine Franconian)
Lower Normandy	Basse-Normandie	Norman: Basse-Normaundie	Caen	25	Western half of former province of Normandy
Midi-Pyrénées	Midi-Pyrénées	Occitan: Miègjorn-Pirenèus Occitan: Mieidia-Pirenèus	Toulouse	73	None; created for Toulouse
Nord-Pas-de-Calais	Nord-Pas-de-Calais		Lille	31	Nord and Pas-de-Calais departments
Pays de la Loire	Pays de la Loire	Breton: Broioù al Liger	Nantes	52	None; created for Nantes
Picardy	Picardie		Amiens	22	Former province of Picardy
Poitou-Charentes	Poitou-Charentes	Occitan: Peitau-Charantas Poitevin and Saintongeais : Poetou-Chérentes	Poitiers	54	Former provinces of Angoumois, Aunis, Poitou and Saintonge
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	Former province of Provence
Rhône-Alpes	Rhône-Alpes	Arpitan: Rôno-Arpes Occitan: Ròse Aups	Lyon	82	Created for Lyon from Dauphiné and Lyonnais provinces and Savoy
Upper Normandy	Haute-Normandie	Norman: Ĥâote-Normaundie	Rouen	23	Eastern half of former province of Normandy

Role[edit]

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[edit]

Number of regions controlled by each coalition since 1986.

Elections	Presidencies			Map
Elections	Left	Right	Other	Map
1986	5	21	–
1992	4	21	1
1998	10	15	1

Elections	Presidencies			Map
Elections	Left	Right	Other	Map
2004	23	2	1
2010	23	3	–
2015	7	8	2

Overseas regions[edit]

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.

References[edit]

^ ^a^b "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}

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

^ ^a^b New name as of 17 January 2015; formerly named Centre.

^ These flags are not official.

External links[edit]

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)

[INSEE-1] "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.

[ReferenceA-10] New name as of 17 January 2015; formerly named Centre.

[These_flags_are_not_official-11] These flags are not official.

v t e List of regions of Europe
Sovereign states	Albania Andorra Armenia Austria Azerbaijan Belarus Belgium Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria Croatia Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland France Georgia Germany Greece Hungary Iceland Ireland Italy Kazakhstan Latvia Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Macedonia Malta Moldova Monaco Montenegro Netherlands Norway Poland Portugal Romania Russia San Marino Serbia Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden Switzerland Turkey Ukraine United Kingdom
States with limited recognition	Abkhazia Artsakh Northern Cyprus South Ossetia Transnistria
Dependencies and other entities	Åland Faroe Islands Gibraltar Guernsey Isle of Man Jersey Svalbard

v t e First-level administrative divisions in European countries
Sovereign states	Albania Andorra Armenia² Austria Azerbaijan¹ Belarus Belgium Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria Croatia Cyprus² Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland France Georgia¹ Germany Greece Hungary Iceland Ireland Italy Kazakhstan¹ Latvia Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Macedonia Malta Moldova Monaco Montenegro Netherlands Norway Poland Portugal Romania Russia¹ San Marino Serbia Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden Switzerland Turkey¹ Ukraine United Kingdom
States with limited recognition	Abkhazia² Kosovo Nagorno-Karabakh² Northern Cyprus² South Ossetia² Transnistria
¹Has part of its territory outside Europe. ² Considered European for cultural, political and historical reasons but is geographically in Western Asia.
Table of administrative divisions by country

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