Departments of France ▪ Sale
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This article is part of the series on
Administrative divisions of France

(incl. overseas regions)
Departments

(incl. overseas departments)

Urban communities
Agglomeration communities
Commune communities
Syndicates of New Agglomeration

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 or 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[edit]

Main article: Territorial formation of France
Departments of France
Geometrical proposition rejected
Departments of France
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:

Departments of France
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[edit]

Main article: Administrative divisions of France
See also: List of French departments by population
Administration territoriale française.svg
Departments of France
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 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 km (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[edit]

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).

Key to the parties:

Future[edit]

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.

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.

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. This committee advocates, on the contrary, the suppression of the cantons.

Maps and tables[edit]

Current departments[edit]

All departments have an escutcheon with which they are commonly associated, but not all are officially recognized or used. In some departments they are used, but in others a more modern emblem is used. The national government itself has no heraldic coat of arms, as a rejection of the aristocratic origins of heraldry, and this is followed by many governments in the departments.

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

Former departments[edit]

Former departments of the current territory of France[edit]

Department Prefecture Dates in existence
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 (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: Coat of arms of the department of Yvelines Yvelines, Coat of arms of the department of Val-d'Oise Val-d'Oise, Coat of arms of the department of Essonne Essonne, Coat of arms of the department of Val-de-Marne 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 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.

Departments of French Algeria[edit]

Departments of France
The three Algerian departments in 1848
Departments of France
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.

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)
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)

Departments in former French colonies[edit]

Department Modern-day location Dates in existence
Département du Sud Hispaniola
(Departments of France Dominican Republic and Departments of France 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 Departments of France Saint Lucia, Departments of France Tobago 1795–1800
Île de France Departments of France Mauritius, Flag of Rodrigues Rodrigues, Departments of France Seychelles 1795–1800
Indes-Orientales Pondichéry, Karikal, Yanaon, Mahé and Chandernagore 1795–1800

Departments of the Napoleonic Empire in Europe[edit]

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 location Contemporary location Dates in existence
Mont-Terrible Porrentruy Departments of France Switzerland Flag of the Holy Roman Empire Holy Roman Empire: 1793–1800
Corcyre Corfou Corfu Departments of France Greece Departments of France Republic of Venice 1797–1799
Ithaque Argostoli 1797–1798
Mer-Égée Zante Zakynthos 1797–1798
Dyle Bruxelles Brussels Departments of France Belgium Flag of the Habsburg dynasty Austrian Netherlands: 1795–1814
Escaut Gand Ghent Departments of France Belgium
Departments of France Netherlands		 Flag of the Habsburg dynasty Austrian Netherlands:

Flag of the Dutch Republic Dutch Republic:

 1795–1814
Forêts Luxembourg Departments of France Luxembourg
Departments of France Belgium
Departments of France Germany		 Flag of the Habsburg dynasty Austrian Netherlands: 1795–1814
Jemmape Mons Departments of France Belgium Flag of the Habsburg dynasty Austrian Netherlands:

Flag of the Holy Roman Empire Holy Roman Empire:

 1795–1814
Lys Bruges Flag of the Habsburg dynasty Austrian Netherlands: 1795–1814
Meuse-Inférieure Maëstricht Maastricht Departments of France Belgium
Departments of France Netherlands		 Flag of the Habsburg dynasty Austrian Netherlands:

Flag of the Dutch Republic Dutch Republic:

Flag of the Holy Roman Empire Holy Roman Empire:

Flag of Maastricht Maastricht

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

Flag of the Dutch Republic Dutch Republic:

 1795–1814
Ourthe Liège Departments of France Belgium
Departments of France Germany		 Flag of the Habsburg dynasty Austrian Netherlands:

Flag of the Holy Roman Empire Holy Roman Empire:

 1795–1814
Sambre-et-Meuse Namur Departments of France Belgium Flag of the Habsburg dynasty Austrian Netherlands:

Flag of the Holy Roman Empire Holy Roman Empire:

 1795–1814
Mont-Tonnerre Mayence Mainz Departments of France 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 Departments of France Germany
Departments of France Netherlands		 Flag of the Holy Roman Empire Holy Roman Empire: 1801–1814
Sarre Trèves Trier Departments of France Belgium
Departments of France Germany		 Flag of the Holy Roman Empire Holy Roman Empire: 1801–1814
Doire Ivrée Ivrea Departments of France Italy Coat of arms of the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia 1802–1814
Marengo Alexandrie Alessandria 1802–1814
Pô Turin 1802–1814
Sésia Verceil Vercelli 1802–1814
Stura Coni Cuneo 1802–1814
Tanaro Asti 1802–1805
Apennins Chiavari Flag of the Republic of Genoa Republic of Genoa 1805–1814
Gênes Gênes Genoa 1805–1814
Montenotte Savone Savona 1805–1814
Arno Florence Flag of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany Grand Duchy of Tuscany 1808–1814
Méditerranée Livourne Livorno 1808–1814
Ombrone Sienne Siena 1808–1814
Taro Parme Parma Flag of the Holy Roman Empire Holy Roman Empire: 1808–1814
Rome 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 Departments of France Netherlands Flag of the Dutch Republic Dutch Republic: 1810–1814
Bouches-de-l'Escaut Middelbourg Middelburg Flag of the Dutch Republic Dutch Republic: 1810–1814
Simplon Sion Departments of France Switzerland Coat of arms of the Valais République des Sept Dizains 1810–1814
Bouches-de-la-Meuse La Haye The Hague Departments of France Netherlands Flag of the Dutch Republic Dutch Republic: 1811–1814
Bouches-de-l'Yssel Zwolle Flag of the Dutch Republic Dutch Republic: 1811–1814
Ems-Occidental Groningue Groningen Departments of France Netherlands
Departments of France Germany		 Flag of the Dutch Republic Dutch Republic: 1811–1814
Ems-Oriental Aurich Departments of France Germany Flag of the Holy Roman Empire Holy Roman Empire: 1811–1814
Frise Leuwarden Leeuwarden Departments of France Netherlands Flag of the Dutch Republic Dutch Republic: 1811–1814
Yssel-Supérieur Arnhem Flag of the Dutch Republic Dutch Republic: 1811–1814
Zuyderzée Amsterdam Flag of the Dutch Republic Dutch Republic: 1811–1814
Bouches-de-l'Elbe Hamburg Hamburg Departments of France 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: 1811–1814
Lippe Munster Münster Flag of the Holy Roman Empire Holy Roman Empire: 1811–1814
Bouches-de-l'Èbre Lérida Lleida Departments of France Spain 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 Departments of France Republic of Venice were lost to France, becoming the Flag of the Septinsular Republic Septinsular Republic, a nominal protectorate of the Departments of France 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.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. "La fusion département-région n'est pas à l'ordre du jour". L'Express. Retrieved 2011-07-21. 
  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. "Les 20 propositions du Comité (20 propositions of the Committee)" (in French). Committee for the reform of local authorities. Retrieved 2009-11-11. 

External links[edit]

Articles on second-level administrative divisions of European countries
Has part of its territory outside Europe. Entirely in Western Asia, but considered European for cultural, political and historical reasons. Partially or entirely in Asia, depending on the definition of the border. Partially recognised.

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