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# Communes of France
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For other uses, see [Communal

(disambiguation)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communal_(disambiguation) "Communal
(disambiguation)").
| | |
|---|---|
|![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/b/b4/Ambox_important.svg/40px-
Ambox_important.svg.png)||
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|**This article has multiple issues.** Please help **[improve
it](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:EditPage/Communes_of_France
"Special:EditPage/Communes of France")** or discuss these issues on the **[talk
page](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Communes_of_France "Talk:Communes of
France")**. _([Learn how and when to remove these template
messages](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:Maintenance_template_removal
"Help:Maintenance template removal"))_ \| \| \|---\| \|This article
**possibly contains [original
research](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:No_original_research
"Wikipedia:No original research")**. _(January 2015)_\| \| \| \|---\|
 \|This article **needs additional citations for
[verification](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Verifiability
"Wikipedia:Verifiability")**. _(April 2020)_\| \| \| \|---\| \|This
article's **factual accuracy is
[disputed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Accuracy_dispute
"Wikipedia:Accuracy dispute")**. _(December 2022)_\||
|Communes of France| |
|---|---|
|[![Map of communes of metropolitan
France](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/83/FR-communes-
2020.png/450px-FR-communes-2020.png)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:FR-
communes-2020.png "Map of communes of metropolitan France")| |
|Category|[Municipality](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Municipality
"Municipality")|
|Location|[France](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/France "France")|
|Found in|[Departments](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Departments_of_France
"Departments of France")|
|Number|34,965 ([List](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lists_of_communes_of_France
"Lists of communes of France")) (as of January 2021)|
|Populations|1 ([Rochefourchat](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rochefourchat
"Rochefourchat")) – 2,175,601 ([Paris](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris
"Paris"))|
|Areas|0.04 km2 ([Castelmoron-d'Albret](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castelmoron-d
%27Albret "Castelmoron-d'Albret")) – 18,360 km2
([Maripasoula](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maripasoula "Maripasoula"))|
|Government|- [Municipal
council](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Municipal_council_(France) "Municipal
council (France)")|
| |
|---|
|This article is part of a series on the|
|[Administrative divisions of
France](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Administrative_divisions_of_France
"Administrative divisions of France")|
|[![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b7/Armoiries_r
%C3%A9publique_fran%C3%A7aise.svg/100px-Armoiries_r%C3%A9publique_fran
%C3%A7aise.svg.png)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Armoiries_r
%C3%A9publique_fran%C3%A7aise.svg)|
|Administrative divisions|
|- [Regions](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regions_of_France "Regions of
France") - [Departments](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Departments_of_France
"Departments of France") -
[Arrondissements](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arrondissements_of_France
"Arrondissements of France") -
[Cantons](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cantons_of_France "Cantons of France")|
|[Intercommunality](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Communes_of_France#Intercommunality)|
|- _[Métropole](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C3%A9tropole "Métropole")_ -
_[Communauté urbaine](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communaut%C3%A9_urbaine
"Communauté urbaine")_ - _[Communauté
d'agglomération](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agglomeration_communities_in_France
"Agglomeration communities in France")_ - _[Communauté de
communes](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communaut%C3%A9_de_communes "Communauté de
communes")_|
|Communes|
|- [Associated
communes](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Associated_communes_of_France "Associated
communes of France") - [Municipal
arrondissements](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Municipal_arrondissements_of_France
"Municipal arrondissements of France")|
|[Overseas France](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overseas_France "Overseas
France")|
|- [Overseas departments and
regions](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overseas_department_and_region "Overseas
department and region") - [Overseas
collectivities](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overseas_collectivity "Overseas
collectivity") - [Overseas
country](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overseas_country_of_France "Overseas country
of France") ([French Polynesia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Polynesia
"French Polynesia")) - [_Sui generis_
collectivity](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Caledonia "New Caledonia") ([New
Caledonia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Caledonia "New Caledonia")) -
[Overseas territory](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overseas_territory_(France)
"Overseas territory (France)") ([French Southern and Antarctic
Lands](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Southern_and_Antarctic_Lands "French
Southern and Antarctic Lands")) - [Clipperton
Island](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clipperton_Island "Clipperton Island")|
|[Geocodes](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geocodes "Geocodes") of France|
|- [ISO](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_3166-2:FR "ISO 3166-2:FR") - [NUTS]
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NUTS_statistical_regions_of_France "NUTS statistical
regions of France") ---|
|![flag](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/c/c3/Flag_of_France.svg/
16px-Flag_of_France.svg.png) [France
portal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:France "Portal:France")|
|- [v](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Administrative_divisions_of_France
"Template:Administrative divisions of France") -
[t](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template_talk:Administrative_divisions_of_France
"Template talk:Administrative divisions of France") -
[e](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:EditPage/Template:Administrative_division
s_of_France "Special:EditPage/Template:Administrative divisions of France")|
The **commune** (French pronunciation:

[[kɔmyn]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA/French "Help:IPA/French") []
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/0/05/LL-Q150_%28fra%29-
WikiLucas00-commune.wav/LL-Q150_%28fra%29-WikiLucas00-commune.wav.mp3 "Play audio")
[ⓘ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:LL-Q150_(fra)-WikiLucas00-commune.wav
"File:LL-Q150 (fra)-WikiLucas00-commune.wav")) is a level of [administrative
division](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Administrative_divisions) in the [French
Republic](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/France "France"). French communes are
analogous to [civil townships](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_township "Civil
township") and incorporated
[municipalities](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Municipality "Municipality") in the
United States and Canada,
__[Gemeinden](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Municipalities_of_Germany
"Municipalities of Germany")__ in Germany,
__[comuni](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comuni "Comuni")__ in Italy, or
__[municipios](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Municipalities_of_Spain
"Municipalities of Spain")__ in Spain. The UK equivalent are [civil parishes]
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_parish "Civil parish"). Communes are based on
historical geographic communities or villages and are vested with significant
powers to manage the populations and land of the geographic area covered. The
communes are the fourth-level administrative divisions of France.
Communes vary widely in size and area, from large sprawling cities with millions of
inhabitants like [Paris](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris "Paris"), to small
[hamlets](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamlet_(place) "Hamlet (place)") with only
a handful of inhabitants. Communes typically are based on pre-existing villages and
facilitate local governance. All communes have names, but not all named geographic
areas or groups of people residing together are communes (_"lieu dit"_ or
_"bourg"_), the difference residing in the lack of administrative powers. Except
for the [municipal
arrondissements](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Municipal_arrondissements_of_France
"Municipal arrondissements of France") of its largest cities, the communes are the
lowest level of administrative division in France and are governed by elected
officials including a [mayor](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mayor_(France) "Mayor
(France)") (__maire__) and a [municipal
council (France)") (__conseil municipal__). They have extensive autonomous powers
to implement national policy.
## Terminology
A __commune__ is the smallest and oldest [administrative division in France]

(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Administrative_divisions_of_France "Administrative
divisions of
France").[[1]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communes_of_France#cite_note-1)
"[Commune](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intentional_community "Intentional
community")" in English has a historical association with socialist and
collectivist political movements and philosophies. This association arises in part
from the rising of the [Paris Commune](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris_Commune
"Paris Commune") (1871) which could have more felicitously been called, in English,
"the rising of the City of Paris". There is nothing intrinsically different between
"town" in English and __commune__ in French.
The French word __commune__ appeared in the 12th century, from [Medieval Latin]
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medieval_Latin "Medieval Latin") __[communia]
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medieval_commune "Medieval commune")__, for a large
gathering of people sharing a common life; from
[Latin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latin "Latin") __communis__, 'things held in
common'.
### Number of communes
As of January 2021, there were 35,083 communes in

[France](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/France "France"), of which 34,836 were in
[metropolitan France](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metropolitan_France
"Metropolitan France"), 129 in the [overseas
departments](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overseas_departments_and_regions_of_Fran
ce "Overseas departments and regions of France"), and 83 in the [overseas
collectivities](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overseas_collectivity "Overseas
collectivity") and [New Caledonia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Caledonia "New
Caledonia").[[2]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communes_of_France#cite_note-2)
This is a considerably higher total than that of any other [European country]
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_country "European country"), because French
communes still largely reflect the division of France into villages or parishes at
the time of the [French Revolution](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Revolution
"French Revolution").
| | |
|---|---|
**Evolution of the number of
communes**[[3]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communes_of_France#cite_note-3)
|\|Metropolitan France(1)\|Overseas France(2)\| \|---\|---\|---\| \|March
1861\|37,510\|n/a\| \|March 1866\|37,548\|n/a\| \|6 March 1921\|37,963\|n/a\|
 \|7 March 1926\|37,981\|n/a\| \|8 March 1931\|38,004\|n/a\| \|8 March
1936\|38,014\|n/a\| \|1 January 1947\|37,983\|n/a\| \|10 May 1954\|38,000\|
n/a\| \|7 March 1962\|37,962\|n/a\| \|1 March 1968\|37,708\|n/a\| \|1
January 1971\|37,659\|n/a\| \|20 February 1975\|36,394\|n/a\| \|1 January
1978\|36,382\|n/a\| \|1 March 1982\|36,433\|211\||\|Metropolitan France(1)\|
Overseas France(2)\| \|---\|---\|---\| \|1 March 1985\|36,631\|211\| \|1
March 1990\|36,551\|212\| \|1 January 1999\|36,565\|214\| \|1 January 2000\|
36,567\|214\| \|1 January 2001\|36,564\|214\| \|1 January 2002\|36,566\|214\|
 \|1 January 2003\|36,565\|214\| \|1 January 2004\|36,569\|214\| \|1
January 2005\|36,571\|214\| \|1 January 2006\|36,572\|214\| \|1 January
2007\|36,570\|214\| \|1 January 2008\|36,569\|212\| \|1 January 2021\|
34,836\|212\||
|(1) Within the current limits of metropolitan France, which existed between 1860
and 1871 and from 1919 to today. (2) Within the current extent of overseas
France, which has remained unchanged since the independence of the [New Hebrides]
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Hebrides "New Hebrides") in 1980.| |
The whole territory of the French Republic is divided into communes; even
uninhabited mountains or [rain forests](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rain_forest
"Rain forest") are dependent on a commune for their administration. This is unlike
some other countries, such as the United States, where [unincorporated areas]
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unincorporated_area "Unincorporated area") directly
governed by a county or a higher authority can be found. There are only a few
exceptions:
- COM (_collectivité d'outre-mer_, i.e., [overseas

collectivity](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overseas_collectivity "Overseas
collectivity")) of
[Saint-Martin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collectivity_of_Saint_Martin
"Collectivity of Saint Martin") (33,102 inhabitants). It was previously a commune
inside the [Guadeloupe](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guadeloupe "Guadeloupe")
_[région](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regions_of_France "Regions of France")_.
The commune structure was abolished when Saint-Martin became an overseas
collectivity on 22 February 2007.
- COM of [Wallis and Futuna](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wallis_and_Futuna
"Wallis and Futuna") (14,944 inhabitants), which still is divided according to the
three traditional chiefdoms.
- COM of [Saint Barthélemy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Barth%C3%A9lemy
"Saint Barthélemy") (6,852 inhabitants). It was previously a commune inside the
Guadeloupe region. The commune structure was abolished when Saint-Barthélemy became
an overseas collectivity on 22 February 2007.
Furthermore, two regions without permanent habitation have no communes:
- TOM (_territoire d'outre-mer_, i.e., [overseas

territory](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overseas_territory_(France) "Overseas
territory (France)")) of the [French Southern and Antarctic
Lands](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Southern_and_Antarctic_Lands "French
Southern and Antarctic Lands") (no permanent population, about 200 resident
scientists, soldiers, and meteorologists)
- [Clipperton Island](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clipperton_Island "Clipperton
Island") in the Pacific Ocean (uninhabited)
### Area of a typical commune
In metropolitan [France](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/France "France"), the

average area of a commune in 2004 was 14.88 square kilometres (5.75 sq mi). The
[median](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Median "Median") area of metropolitan
France's communes at the 1999 census was even smaller, at 10.73 square kilometres
(4.14 sq mi). The median area gives a better sense of the size of a _typical_
mainland France commune than the average area since the average includes some very
large communes.
In [Italy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italy "Italy"), the median area of

communes (_[comuni](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comune "Comune")_) is 22 km2
(8.5 sq mi); in [Belgium](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belgium "Belgium") it is
40 km2 (15 sq mi); in [Spain](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spain "Spain") it is
35 km2 (14 sq mi); and in [Germany](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germany
"Germany"), the majority of
[_Länder_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/States_of_Germany "States of Germany")
have communes
([_Gemeinden_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/States_of_Germany#Municipalities_(Geme
inden) "States of Germany")) with a median area above 15 km2 (5.8 sq mi).
[Switzerland](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Switzerland "Switzerland") and the
[_Länder_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/States_of_Germany "States of Germany") of
[Rhineland-Palatinate](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhineland-Palatinate
"Rhineland-Palatinate"),
[Schleswig-Holstein](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schleswig-Holstein "Schleswig-
Holstein"), and [Thuringia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thuringia "Thuringia") in
Germany were the only places in Europe where the communes had a smaller median area
than in France.
The communes of France's [overseas _départements_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D

%C3%A9partement_d%27outre-mer "Département d'outre-mer") such as [Réunion]
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R%C3%A9union "Réunion") and [French Guiana]
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Guiana "French Guiana") are large by French
standards. They usually group into the same commune several villages or towns,
often with sizeable distances among them. In Réunion, demographic expansion and
sprawling urbanization have resulted in the administrative splitting of some
_communes_.
### Population of a typical commune
The [median](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Median "Median") population of

metropolitan France's communes at the 1999 census was 380 inhabitants. Again this
is a very small number, and here France stands absolutely apart in Europe, with the
lowest communes' median population of all the European countries (communes in
[Switzerland](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Switzerland "Switzerland") or
[Rhineland-Palatinate](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhineland-Palatinate
"Rhineland-Palatinate") may cover a smaller area, as mentioned above, but they are
more populated). This small median population of French communes can be compared
with Italy, where the median population of communes in 2001 was 2,343 inhabitants,
[Belgium](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belgium "Belgium") (11,265 inhabitants), or
even Spain (564 inhabitants).
The median population given here should not hide the fact that there are pronounced
differences in size between French communes. As mentioned in the introduction, a
commune can be a city of 2 million inhabitants such as Paris, a town of 10,000
inhabitants, or just a hamlet of 10 inhabitants. What the median population tells
us is that the vast majority of the French communes only have a few hundred
inhabitants, but there are also a small number of communes with much higher
populations.
In metropolitan France 57 percent of the 36,683

communes[[4]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communes_of_France#cite_note-4) have
fewer than 500 inhabitants and, with 4,638,000 inhabitants, these smaller communes
constitute just 7.7 percent of the total population. In other words, just 8 percent
of the French population live in 57 percent of its communes, whilst 92 percent are
concentrated in the remaining 43 percent.
### Example: Alsace
[Alsace](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alsace "Alsace"), with an area of 8,280 km2

(3,200 sq mi), and now part of the Région Grand Est, used to be the smallest of the
[regions](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regions_of_France "Regions of France") of
[metropolitan France](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metropolitan_France
"Metropolitan France"), and still has no fewer than 904 communes. This high number
is typical of metropolitan France but is atypical when compared with other European
countries. It shows the distinctive nature of the French commune as a geo-political
or administrative entity.
With its 904 communes, Alsace has three times as many municipalities as [Sweden]
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweden "Sweden"), which has a much larger territory
covering 449,964 km2 (173,732 sq mi) and yet is divided into only 290
municipalities ([_kommuner_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Municipalities_of_Sweden
"Municipalities of Sweden")). Alsace has more than double the total number of
municipalities of the [Netherlands](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netherlands
"Netherlands") which, in spite of having a population nine times larger and a land
area four times larger than Alsace, is divided into just 390 municipalities
(_[gemeenten](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Municipalities_of_the_Netherlands
"Municipalities of the Netherlands")_).
Most of the communes in Alsace, along with those in other regions of France, have
rejected the central government's calls for mergers and rationalization. By way of
contrast, in the [German states](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/States_of_Germany
"States of Germany") bordering Alsace, the geo-political and administrative areas
have been subject to various re-organizations from the 1960s onward. In the state
of [Baden-Württemberg](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baden-W%C3%BCrttemberg "Baden-
Württemberg"), the number of _Gemeinden_ or communities was reduced from 3,378 in
1968[[5]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communes_of_France#cite_note-5) to 1,108 in
September 2007.[[6]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communes_of_France#cite_note-
German_Gemeinden-6) In comparison, the number of communes in Alsace was only
reduced from 946 in
1971[[7]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communes_of_France#cite_note-7)[[8]]
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communes_of_France#cite_note-8) (just before the
Marcellin law aimed at encouraging French communes to merge with each other was
passed, see [Current
debate](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communes_of_France#Current_debate) section
below) to 904 in January 2007. Consequently, the Alsace region—despite having a
land area only one-fifth the size and a total population only one-sixth of that of
its neighbor Baden-Württemberg—has almost as many municipalities. The small Alsace
region has more than double the number of municipalities compared to the large and
populous state of [North
Rhine-Westphalia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Rhine-Westphalia "North
Rhine-Westphalia") (396 _Gemeinden_ in September 2007).
### Status of the communes
Despite differences in population, each of the communes of the French Republic

possesses a [mayor](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mayor_(France) "Mayor (France)")
(_maire_) and a [municipal
council](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_council_(France) "City council
(France)") (_conseil municipal_), which jointly manage the commune from the
[municipal hall](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_hall_(administration) "City
hall (administration)") (_mairie_), with exactly the same powers no matter the size
of the commune. This uniformity of status is a legacy of the French Revolution,
which wanted to do away with the local idiosyncrasies and tremendous differences in
status that existed in the kingdom of France.
French law makes allowances for the vast differences in commune size in a number of
areas of administrative law. The size of the municipal council, the method of
electing the municipal council, the maximum allowable pay of the mayor and deputy
mayors, and municipal campaign finance limits (among other features) all depend on
the population echelon into which a particular commune falls.
Since the PLM Law of 1982, three French communes also have a special status in that
they are further divided into [municipal
arrondissements](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Municipal_arrondissement_in_France
"Municipal arrondissement in France"): these are Paris,
[Marseille](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marseille "Marseille"), and [Lyon]
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyon "Lyon"). The [municipal arrondissement]
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Municipal_arrondissement "Municipal arrondissement")
is the only administrative unit below the commune in the French Republic but exists
only in these three communes. These municipal arrondissements are not to be
confused with the
[arrondissements](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_arrondissements "French
arrondissements") that are subdivisions of French _départements_: French communes
are considered [legal entities](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juristic_person
"Juristic person"), whereas municipal arrondissements, by contrast, have no
official capacity and no budget of their own.
The rights and obligations of communes are governed by the _Code général des
collectivités territoriales (CGCT)_ which replaced the _Code des communes_ (except
for personnel matters) with the passage of the law of 21 February 1996 for
legislation and decree number 2000-318 of 7 April 2000 for regulations.[[9]]
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communes_of_France#cite_note-9)[[10]](https://
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communes_of_France#cite_note-10)
From 1794 to 1977 — except for a few months in 1848 and 1870-1871 — Paris had no
mayor and was thus directly controlled by the departmental prefect. This meant that
Paris had less autonomy than certain towns or villages. Even after Paris regained
the right to elect its own mayor in 1977, the central government retained control
of the Paris police. In all other French communes, the municipal police are under
the mayor's supervision.
## History of the French communes
French communes were created at the beginning of the French Revolution in 1789–
1790.
### Kingdom of France
#### Parishes
Before the revolution, France's lowest level of administrative division was the
parish (_paroisse_), and there were up to 60,000 of them in the kingdom. A parish
was essentially a church, the houses around it (known as the village), and the
cultivated land around the village. France was the most populous country in Europe
at this time, with a population of approximately 25 million inhabitants in the late
18th century ([England](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/England "England") in
contrast had only 6 million inhabitants), which accounts for the large number of
parishes. French kings often prided themselves on ruling over a "realm of 100,000
steeples".
Parishes lacked the municipal structures of post-Revolution communes. Usually, one

contained only a building committee (_conseil de fabrique_), made up of villagers,
which managed the buildings of the parish church, the churchyard, and the other
numerous church estates and properties, and sometimes also provided help for the
poor, or even administered parish hospitals or schools. Since the [Ordinance of
Villers-Cotterêts](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ordinance_of_Villers-Cotter
%C3%AAts "Ordinance of Villers-Cotterêts") of 1539 by [Francis
I](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_I_of_France "Francis I of France"), the
priest in charge of the parish was also required to record baptisms, marriages, and
burials. Except for these tasks, villages were left to handle other issues as they
pleased. Typically, villagers would gather to decide over a special issue regarding
the community, such as agricultural land usage, but there existed no permanent
municipal body. In many places, the local feudal lord (_seigneur_) still had a
major influence in the village's affairs, collecting taxes from tenant-villagers
and ordering them to work the [corvée](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corv%C3%A9e
"Corvée"), controlling which fields were to be used and when, and how much of the
harvest should be given to him.
#### Chartered cities
Additionally, some cities had obtained

[charters](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charter "Charter") during the Middle Ages,
either from the king himself or from local counts or dukes (such as the city of
[Toulouse](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toulouse "Toulouse") chartered by the
counts of Toulouse). These cities were made up of several parishes (up to c. 50
parishes in the case of Paris), and they were usually enclosed by a [defensive
wall](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defensive_wall "Defensive wall"). They had been
emancipated from the power of feudal lords in the 12th and 13th centuries, had
municipal bodies which administered the city, and bore some resemblance with the
communes that the French Revolution would establish except for two key points:
- these municipal bodies were not democratic; they were usually in the hands of
some rich bourgeois families upon whom, over time, nobility had been conferred, so
they can be better labeled as
[oligarchies](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oligarchies "Oligarchies") rather than
municipal democracies.
- there was no uniform status for these chartered cities, each one having its own
status and specific organization.
In the north, cities tended to be administered by _échevins_ (from an old Germanic

word meaning judge), while in the south, cities tended to be administered by
_consuls_ (in a clear reference to Roman antiquity), but
[Bordeaux](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bordeaux "Bordeaux") was administered by
_[jurats](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jurat "Jurat")_ (etymologically meaning
"sworn men") and Toulouse by _capitouls_ ("men of the chapter"). Usually, there was
no mayor in the modern sense; all the _échevins_ or _consuls_ were on equal
footing, and rendered decisions collegially. However, for certain purposes, there
was one _échevin_ or _consul_ ranking above the others, a sort of mayor, although
not with the same authority and executive powers as a modern mayor. This "mayor"
was called [provost of the merchants](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Provost_(civil)
"Provost (civil)") (_prévôt des marchands_) in Paris and Lyon; _maire_ in
Marseille, Bordeaux, [Rouen](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rouen "Rouen"),
[Orléans](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orl%C3%A9ans "Orléans"), [Bayonne]
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bayonne "Bayonne") and many other cities and towns;
_mayeur_ in [Lille](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lille "Lille"); _premier
capitoul_ in Toulouse; _viguier_ in
[Montpellier](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montpellier "Montpellier"); _premier
consul_ in many towns of southern France; _prêteur royal_ in
[Strasbourg](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strasbourg "Strasbourg"); _maître
échevin_ in [Metz](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metz "Metz"); _maire royal_ in
[Nancy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nancy,_France "Nancy, France"); or _prévôt_
in [Valenciennes](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valenciennes "Valenciennes").
### French Revolution
On 14 July 1789, at the end of the afternoon, following the [storming of the
Bastille](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Storming_of_the_Bastille "Storming of the
Bastille"), the provost of the merchants of Paris, [Jacques de Flesselles]
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacques_de_Flesselles "Jacques de Flesselles") was
shot by the crowd on the steps of Paris City
Hall.[[11]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communes_of_France#cite_note-11) Although
in the Middle Ages the provosts of the merchants symbolized the independence of
Paris and even had openly rebelled against King [Charles
V](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_V_of_France "Charles V of France"), their
office had been suppressed by the king, then reinstated but with strict control
from the king, and so they had ended up being viewed by the people as yet another
representative of the king, no longer the embodiment of a free municipality.
Following that event, a ["commune" of

Paris](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris_Commune_(1789%E2%80%931795) "Paris
Commune (1789–1795)") was immediately set up to replace the old medieval chartered
city of Paris, and a municipal guard was established to protect Paris against any
attempt made by King [Louis XVI](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_XVI_of_France
"Louis XVI of France") to quell the ongoing revolution. Several other cities of
France quickly followed suit, and communes arose everywhere, each with their
municipal guard. On 14 December 1789, the [National
Assembly](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Constituent_Assembly_(France)
"National Constituent Assembly (France)") (_Assemblée Nationale_) passed a law
creating the
commune,[_[dubious](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Accuracy_dispute#Disput
ed_statement "Wikipedia:Accuracy dispute") –
[discuss](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Communes_of_France#Dubious_history
"Talk:Communes of France")_] designed to be the lowest level of administrative
division in France, thus endorsing these independently created communes, but also
creating communes of its own. In this area as in many others, the work of the
National Assembly was, properly speaking, revolutionary: not content with
transforming all the chartered cities and towns into communes, the National
Assembly also decided to turn all the village parishes into full-status communes.
The Revolutionaries were inspired by [Cartesian](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ren
%C3%A9_Descartes "René Descartes") ideas as well as by the philosophy of the
[Enlightenment](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Age_of_Enlightenment "The Age of
Enlightenment"). They wanted to do away with all the peculiarities of the past and
establish a perfect society, in which all and everything should be equal and set up
according to reason, rather than by tradition or conservatism.
Thus, they set out to establish administrative divisions that would be uniform
across the country: the whole of France would be divided into _départements_,
themselves divided into arrondissements, themselves divided into cantons,
themselves divided into communes, no exceptions. All of these communes would have
equal status, they would all have a mayor at their head and a municipal council
elected by the inhabitants of the commune. This was a real revolution for the
thousands of villages that never had experienced organized municipal life before. A
communal house had to be built in each of these villages, which would house the
meetings of the municipal council as well as the administration of the commune.
Some in the National Assembly were opposed to such a fragmentation of France into
thousands of communes, but eventually
[Mirabeau](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honor%C3%A9_Mirabeau "Honoré Mirabeau")
and his ideas of one commune for each parish prevailed.
On 20 September 1792, the recording of births, marriages, and deaths also was
withdrawn as a responsibility of the priests of the parishes and handed to the
mayors.[[12]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communes_of_France#cite_note-12)[[13]]
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communes_of_France#cite_note-13) Civil marriages
were established and started to be performed in the _mairie_ with a ceremony not
unlike the traditional one, with the mayor replacing the priest, and the name of
the law replacing the name of God ("_Au nom de la loi, je vous déclare unis par les
liens du mariage._" – "In the name of the law, I declare you united by the bonds of
marriage."). Priests were forced to surrender their centuries-old baptism,
marriage, and burial books, which were deposited in the _mairies_. These abrupt
changes profoundly alienated devout Catholics, and France soon was plunged into the
throes of [civil war](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_war "Civil war"), with
the fervently religious regions of western France at its center. It would take
[Napoleon I](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napoleon_I "Napoleon I") to re-establish
peace in France, stabilize the new administrative system, and make it generally
accepted by the population. Napoleon also abolished the election of the municipal
councils, which now were chosen by the
[prefect](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prefect "Prefect"), the local
representative of the central government.
### Trends after the French Revolution

Today, French communes are still very much the same in their general principles as
those that were established at the beginning of the Revolution. The biggest changes
occurred in 1831, when the French Parliament re-established the principle of the
election of municipal councils, and in 1837 when French communes were given legal
"personality", being now considered [legal
entities](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juristic_person "Juristic person") with
legal capacity. The [Jacobin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacobin_(politics)
"Jacobin (politics)") revolutionaries were afraid of independent local powers,
which they saw as conservative and opposed to the revolution, and so they favored a
powerful central state. Therefore, when they created the communes, they deprived
them of any legal "personality" (as they did with the _départements_), with only
the central state having legal "personality." By 1837 that situation was judged
impractical, as mayors and municipal councils could not be parties in courts. The
consequence of the change, however, was that tens of thousands of villages which
had never had legal "personality" (contrary to the chartered cities) suddenly
became legal entities for the first time in their history. This is still the case
today.
During the revolution, approximately 41,000 communes were

created,[[14]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communes_of_France#cite_note-14) on
territory corresponding to the limits of modern-day France (the 41,000 figure
includes the communes of the departments of
[Savoie](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Savoie "Savoie"),
[Haute-Savoie](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haute-Savoie "Haute-Savoie") and
[Alpes-Maritimes](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpes-Maritimes "Alpes-Maritimes")
which were annexed in 1795, but does not include the departments of modern-day
[Belgium](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belgium "Belgium") and
[Germany](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germany "Germany") west of the [Rhine]
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhine "Rhine"), which were part of France between
1795 and 1815). This was fewer than the 60,000 parishes that existed before the
revolution (in cities and towns, parishes were merged into one single commune; in
the countryside, some very small parishes were merged with bigger ones), but 41,000
was still a considerable number, without any comparison in the world at the time,
except in the empire of [China](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China "China") (but
there, only county level and above had any permanent administration).
Since then, tremendous changes have affected France, as they have the rest of
Europe: the [Industrial
Revolution](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Industrial_Revolution "Industrial
Revolution"), two [world wars](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_war "World
war"), and the [rural exodus](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rural_exodus "Rural
exodus") have all depopulated the countryside and increased the size of cities.
French administrative divisions, however, have remained extremely rigid and
unchanged. Today about 90 percent of communes and departments are exactly the same
as those designed at the time of the French Revolution more than 200 years ago,
with the same limits. Countless rural communes that had hundreds of inhabitants at
the time of the French Revolution now have only a hundred inhabitants or fewer. On
the other hand, cities and towns have grown so much that their urbanized area is
now extending far beyond the limits of their commune which were set at the time of
the revolution. The most extreme example of this is Paris, where the urbanized area
sprawls over 396 communes.
Paris in fact was one of the very few communes of France whose limits were extended
to take into account the expansion of the urbanized area. The new, larger, commune
of Paris was set up under the oversight of Emperor [Napoléon
III](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napol%C3%A9on_III "Napoléon III") in 1859, but
after 1859 the limits of Paris rigidified. Unlike most other European countries,
which stringently merged their communes to better reflect modern-day densities of
population (such as Germany and Italy around 1970), dramatically decreasing the
number of communes in the process – the
[_Gemeinden_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/States_of_Germany#Municipalities_(Gemei
nden) "States of Germany") of [West
Germany](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Germany "West Germany") were decreased
from 24,400 to 8,400 in the space of a few years – France only carried out mergers
at the margin, and those were mostly carried out during the 19th century. From
41,000 communes at the time of the French Revolution, the number decreased to
37,963 in 1921, to 36,569 in 2008 (in metropolitan France).
Thus, in Europe, only Switzerland has as high a density of

[communes](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Municipalities_of_Switzerland
"Municipalities of Switzerland") as France, and even there an extensive merger
movement has started in the last 10 years. To better grasp the staggering number of
communes in France, two comparisons can be made: First, of the original 15 member
states of the [European Union](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Union
"European Union") there are approximately 75,000 communes; France alone, which
comprises 16 percent of the population of the EU-15, had nearly half of its
communes. Second, the [United States](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States
"United States"), with a territory fourteen times larger than that of the French
Republic, and nearly five times its population, had 35,937 incorporated
[municipalities](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Municipal_government "Municipal
government") and [townships](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_township "Civil
township") at the 2002 Census of Governments, fewer than that of the French
Republic. The number of [barangays](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barangay
"Barangay") in the Philippines,
[villages](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Villages_of_Indonesia "Villages of
Indonesia") of Indonesia, and [muban](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muban "Muban")
in Thailand also have a higher number than the French communes.
### Communes nouvelles
There have long been calls in France for a massive merger of communes, including by
such distinguished voices as the president of the [Cour des
Comptes](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cour_des_Comptes "Cour des Comptes") (the
central auditing administrative body in France). In 1971 the [Marcellin law]
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcellin_law "Marcellin law") offered support and
money from the government to entice the communes to merge freely with each other,
but the law had only a limited effect (only about 1,300 communes agreed to merge
with others). Many rural communes with few residents struggle to maintain and
manage basic services such as running water, garbage collection, or properly paved
communal roads.
Mergers, however, are not easy to achieve. One problem is that mergers reduce the
number of available elected positions, and thus are not popular with local
politicians. Moreover, citizens from one village may be unwilling to have their
local services run by an executive located in another village, whom they may
consider unaware of or inattentive to their local needs.
In December 2010 the law n° 2010-1563 regarding reform of territorial

collectivities was adopted, which created the legal framework for the _communes
nouvelles_ (lit. "new
communes").[[15]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communes_of_France#cite_note-15) A
_commune nouvelle_ can be created by merger of a number of communes at the request
of the municipal councils of all the communes or at the initiative of the state
representative in the department (the
[prefect](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prefect_(France) "Prefect (France)")). The
municipal council of the new commune can decide to create _communes déléguées_
(lit. "delegated communes") in the place of the former communes, which are
represented by a delegated mayor and a delegated council. Between 2012 and 2021,
about 820 _communes nouvelles_ have been established, replacing about 2,550 old
communes.
### Intercommunality
| | |
|---|---|
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The expression "intercommunality" (_intercommunalité_) denotes several forms of

cooperation between communes. Such cooperation first made its appearance at the end
of the 19th century in the form of a law on 22 March
1890,[[16]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communes_of_France#cite_note-
FOOTNOTECour_des_Comptes20058-16) which provided for the establishment of single-
purpose intercommunal associations. French lawmakers having long been aware of the
inadequacy of the communal structure inherited from the [French Revolution]
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Revolution "French Revolution") for dealing
with a number of practical matters, the so-called [Chevènement
law](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chev%C3%A8nement_law "Chevènement law") of 12
July 1999 is the most recent and most thoroughgoing measure aimed at strengthening
and simplifying this principle.
In recent years it has become increasingly common for communes to band together in
intercommunal [consortia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consortium "Consortium")
for the provision of such services as refuse collection and water supply. Suburban
communes often team up with the city at the core of their urban area to form a
community charged with managing public transport or even administering the
collection of local taxes.
The Chevènement law tidied up all these practices, abolishing some structures and
creating new ones. In addition, it offered central government finance aimed at
encouraging further communes to join in intercommunal structures. Unlike the only
partially successful statute enacted in 1966 and enabling urban communes to form
urban communities or the more marked failure of the [Marcellin
law](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcellin_law "Marcellin law") of 1971, the
Chevènement law met with a large measure of success, so that a majority of French
communes are now involved in intercommunal structures.
There are two types of these structures:
- Those without fiscal power, the loosest form of intercommunality. Mainly in this
category are the traditional syndicates of communes. Communes gather and contribute
financially to the syndicate, but the syndicate cannot levy its own taxes. Communes
can leave the syndicate at any time. Syndicates can be set up for a particular
purpose or to deal with several simultaneous matters. These structures have been
left untouched by the Chevènement law, and they are on the decline.
- Structures with fiscal power. This is what the Chevènement law was concerned
with, and it distinguished three structures with fiscal power:
- the community of communes (_[communauté de
communes](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communaut%C3%A9_de_communes "Communauté de
communes")_), aimed primarily at rural communes;
- the community of agglomeration (_[communauté
d'agglomération](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communaut%C3%A9_d%27agglom
%C3%A9ration "Communauté d'agglomération")_), aimed at towns and middle-sized
cities and their suburbs;
- the urban community (_[communauté
urbaine](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communaut%C3%A9_urbaine "Communauté
urbaine")_), aimed at larger cities and their suburbs.
- the metropolis (_[métropole](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C3%A9tropole
"Métropole")_), established in 2014, aimed at the largest cities and their suburbs.
These three structures are given varying levels of fiscal power, with the community
of agglomeration and the urban community having the most fiscal power, levying the
local tax on corporations (_taxe professionnelle_) in their own name instead of
those of the communes, and with the same level of taxation across the communes of
the community. The communities must also manage some services previously performed
by the communes, such as garbage collection or transport, but the law also makes it
mandatory for the communities to manage other areas such as economic planning and
development, housing projects, or environment protection. Communities of communes
are required to manage the fewest areas, leaving the communes more autonomous,
while urban communities are required to manage most matters, leaving the communes
within them with less autonomy.
#### Allocation of government money
In exchange for the creation of a community, the government allocates money to them
based on their population, thus providing an incentive for communes to team up and
form communities. Communities of communes are given the least money per inhabitant,
whereas urban communities are given the most money per inhabitant, thus pushing
communes to form more integrated communities where they have fewer powers, which
they might otherwise have been loath to do if it were not for government money.
The Chevènement law has been extremely successful in the sense that a majority of
French communes now have joined the new intercommunal structures. On 1 January
2007, there were 2,573 such communities in metropolitan France (including five
[syndicats d'agglomération nouvelle](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?
title=Syndicat_d%27agglom%C3%A9ration_nouvelle&action=edit&redlink=1 "Syndicat
d'agglomération nouvelle (page does not exist)"), a category currently being phased
out), made up of 33,327 communes (91.1 percent of all the communes of metropolitan
France), and 52.86 million inhabitants, i.e., 86.7 percent of the population of
metropolitan
France.[[17]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communes_of_France#cite_note-17)
These impressive results however may hide a murkier reality. In rural areas, many
communes have entered a community of communes only to benefit from government
funds. Often the local syndicate has been turned officially into a community of
communes, the new community of communes in fact managing only the services
previously managed by the syndicate, contrary to the spirit of the law which has
established the new intercommunal structures to carry out a much broader range of
activities than that undertaken by the old syndicates. Some say that, should
government money transfers be stopped, many of these communities of communes would
revert to their former status of syndicate, or simply completely disappear in
places where there were no syndicates prior to the law.[_[citation needed]
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed "Wikipedia:Citation
needed")_]
In urban areas, the new intercommunal structures are much more a reality, being
created by local decision-makers out of genuine belief in the worth of working
together. However, in many places, local feuds have arisen, and it was not possible
to set up an intercommunal structure for the whole of the urban area: some communes
refusing to take part in it, or even creating their own structure. In some urban
areas like Marseille there exist four distinct intercommunal structures! In many
areas, rich communes have joined with other rich communes and have refused to let
in poorer communes, for fear that their citizens would be overtaxed to the benefit
of poorer suburbs.[_[citation
needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed "Wikipedia:Citation
needed")_]
Moreover, intercommunal structures in many urban areas are still new, and fragile:
Tensions exist between communes; the city at the center of the urban area often is
suspected of wishing to dominate the suburban communes; communes from opposing
political sides also may be suspicious of each other.[_[citation
needed")_]
Two famous examples of this are Toulouse and Paris. In Toulouse, on top of there
being six intercommunal structures, the main community of Toulouse and its suburbs
is only a community of agglomeration, although Toulouse is large enough to create
an Urban Community according to the law. This is because the suburban communes
refused an urban community for fear of losing too much power, and opted for a
community of agglomeration, despite the fact that a community of agglomeration
receives less government funds than an urban community. As for Paris, no
intercommunal structure has emerged there, the suburbs of Paris fearing the concept
of a "Greater Paris", and so disunity still is the rule in the metropolitan area,
with the suburbs of Paris creating many different intercommunal structures all
without the city.[_[citation
needed")_]
One major often raised problem with intercommunality, is the fact that the
intercommunal structures are not subject to direct election by the people, so it is
the representatives of each individual commune that sit in the new structure. As a
consequence, civil servants and bureaucrats are the ones setting up the agenda and
implementing it, with the elected representatives of the communes only endorsing
key decisions.[_[citation
needed")_]
## Classification
[INSEE](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/INSEE "INSEE") _(Institut National de la

Statistique et des Études Économiques)_ gives numerical [indexing
codes](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/INSEE_code "INSEE code") to various entities
in France, notably the communes (which do not coincide with
[postcodes](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postcode "Postcode")). The complete code
has eight digits and three spaces within, but there is a popular simplified code
with five digits and no space within:
- Two digits ([department](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Departments_of_France

"Departments of France")) and three digits (commune) for the 96 departments of
metropolitan France.
- Three digits (department or collectivity) and two digits (commune) for the
[Overseas departments](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overseas_departments "Overseas
departments"), [Overseas
collectivities](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overseas_collectivities "Overseas
collectivities") and [Overseas
countries](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overseas_country_of_France "Overseas
country of France").
## Administration
Each commune has a [municipal

council (France)") (_conseil municipal_) composed of [municipal councilors]
(https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?
title=Municipal_councilors&action=edit&redlink=1 "Municipal councilors (page does
not exist)") (_conseillers municipaux_). The municipal council is the legislative
and deliberative [organ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organs_of_state "Organs of
state") of the commune. The municipal councilors are elected by the inhabitants of
the commune for a 6-year term. Each commune is governed by a
[mayor](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mayor "Mayor") (_maire_) elected for a 6-year
term.
## Miscellaneous facts
### Most and least populous communes
- [Paris](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris "Paris") is the most populous commune

of France with 2,187,526 residents as of
2017.[[18]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communes_of_France#cite_note-pop2017-18)
- Six of the [French villages destroyed in the First World
War](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_villages_destroyed_in_the_First_World_War
"French villages destroyed in the First World War") have never been rebuilt. All
are found in the _département_ of
[Meuse](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meuse_(department) "Meuse (department)") and
were destroyed during the [Battle of
Verdun](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Verdun "Battle of Verdun") in 1916.
After the war, it was decided that the land previously occupied by the destroyed
villages would not be incorporated into other communes, as a testament to these
villages which had "died for France", as they were declared, and to preserve their
memory. The following communes are entirely unpopulated and are managed by a
council of three members, appointed by the
[prefect](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prefect_(France) "Prefect (France)") of
Meuse:
- [Beaumont-en-Verdunois](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beaumont-en-Verdunois
"Beaumont-en-Verdunois")
- [Bezonvaux](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bezonvaux "Bezonvaux")
- [Cumières-le-Mort-Homme](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cumi%C3%A8res-le-Mort-
Homme "Cumières-le-Mort-Homme")
- [Fleury-devant-Douaumont](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fleury-devant-
Douaumont "Fleury-devant-Douaumont")
- [Haumont-près-Samogneux](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haumont-pr%C3%A8s-
Samogneux "Haumont-près-Samogneux")
- [Louvemont-Côte-du-Poivre](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louvemont-C%C3%B4te-
du-Poivre "Louvemont-Côte-du-Poivre")
- Apart from the above cases, the communes with the fewest inhabitants in the
French Republic
are:[[18]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communes_of_France#cite_note-pop2017-18)
- commune of [Rochefourchat](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rochefourchat
"Rochefourchat") ([Drôme](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dr%C3%B4me "Drôme")), in
southeastern France, one inhabitant as of 1999. (a 38-year-old divorced man)
- commune of [Leménil-Mitry](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lem%C3%A9nil-Mitry
"Leménil-Mitry") ([Meurthe-et-Moselle](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meurthe-et-
Moselle "Meurthe-et-Moselle")), in eastern France, three inhabitants as of 2017.
- the communes of [La Bâtie-des-Fonds](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_B
%C3%A2tie-des-Fonds "La Bâtie-des-Fonds") (Drôme),
[Caunette-sur-Lauquet](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caunette-sur-Lauquet
"Caunette-sur-Lauquet") ([Aude](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aude "Aude")) and
[Majastres](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Majastres "Majastres") ([Alpes-de-Haute-
Provence](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpes-de-Haute-Provence "Alpes-de-Haute-
Provence")), each with four inhabitants as of 2017.
### Most and least subdivided communes
- [Pas-de-Calais](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pas-de-Calais "Pas-de-Calais") is
the department in [France](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/France "France") with the
most communes, with 890.
- [Paris](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris "Paris") is the department in France
with the fewest communes, with only single commune of an
[arrondissement](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arrondissement_of_Paris
"Arrondissement of Paris") and the [department](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris
"Paris") itself.
### Largest and smallest commune territories
- The largest commune of the French Republic is

[Maripasoula](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maripasoula "Maripasoula") (with 3,710
inhabitants) in the _département_ of [French
Guiana](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Guiana "French Guiana"): 18,360 square
kilometres (7,090 sq mi).
- The smallest commune of the French Republic is
[Castelmoron-d'Albret](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castelmoron-d%27Albret
"Castelmoron-d'Albret") (53 inhabitants) near
[Bordeaux](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bordeaux "Bordeaux"): 3.54 hectares (8.75
acres).
- In metropolitan France the largest commune is the commune of
[Arles](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arles "Arles") (50,513 inhabitants) near
Marseille, the territory of which encompasses most of the
[Camargue](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camargue "Camargue") (the [delta]
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/River_delta "River delta") of the
[Rhône](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rh%C3%B4ne "Rhône")): 8.7 times the area of
the city of Paris (excluding the outlying parks of [Bois de
Boulogne](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bois_de_Boulogne "Bois de Boulogne") and
[Bois de Vincennes](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bois_de_Vincennes "Bois de
Vincennes")) at 759 square kilometres (293 sq mi).
### Communes farthest away from the capital city of France
- The commune of the French Republic farthest away from Paris is the commune of
[L'Île-des-Pins](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%27%C3%8Ele-des-Pins "L'Île-des-
Pins") (1,840 inhabitants) in [New
Caledonia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Caledonia "New Caledonia"): 16,841 km
(10,465 miles) from the center of Paris.
- In continental France (i.e., European France excluding
[Corsica](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corsica "Corsica")), the communes farthest
away from Paris are [Coustouges](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coustouges
"Coustouges") (93 inhabitants) and [Lamanère](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laman
%C3%A8re "Lamanère") (52 inhabitants) at the Spanish border: both at 721 km
(448 mi) from the center of Paris as the crow flies.
### Shortest and longest commune names
[![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ac/
Comunne_Y_picardhiv68.jpg/180px-Comunne_Y_picardhiv68.jpg)](https://
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Comunne_Y_picardhiv68.jpg)
Road sign marking the end of the village of

[Y](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Y,_Somme "Y, Somme") in the
[Somme](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somme_(department) "Somme (department)")
department of [Hauts-de-France](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hauts-de-France
"Hauts-de-France")
- The commune of the French Republic with the shortest name is the commune of [Y]
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Y,_Somme "Y, Somme") in
[Somme](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somme_(department) "Somme (department)") (91
inhabitants).
- The two communes in the French Republic with the longest names (38 letters):
- [Saint-Remy-en-Bouzemont-Saint-Genest-et-Isson](https://en.wikipedia.org/
wiki/Saint-Remy-en-Bouzemont-Saint-Genest-et-Isson "Saint-Remy-en-Bouzemont-Saint-
Genest-et-Isson") in [Marne](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marne_(department)
"Marne (department)") (517 inhabitants)
- [Beaujeu-Saint-Vallier-Pierrejux-et-Quitteur](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Beaujeu-Saint-Vallier-Pierrejux-et-Quitteur "Beaujeu-Saint-Vallier-Pierrejux-et-
Quitteur") in [Haute-Saône](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haute-Sa%C3%B4ne "Haute-
Saône") (937 inhabitants)
### Communes with non-French names
[![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d1/
Panneau_Mittelhausbergen.JPG/150px-Panneau_Mittelhausbergen.JPG)](https://
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Panneau_Mittelhausbergen.JPG)
[Mittelhausbergen](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mittelhausbergen
"Mittelhausbergen") in [Alsace](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alsace "Alsace")
[![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/20/
Panneau_Vacqueyras.jpg/150px-Panneau_Vacqueyras.jpg)](https://en.wikipedia.org/
wiki/File:Panneau_Vacqueyras.jpg)
[Vacqueyras](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vacqueyras "Vacqueyras") in [Provence]

(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Provence-Alpes-C%C3%B4te_d%27Azur "Provence-Alpes-
Côte d'Azur"),
showing double French/
[Provençal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proven%C3%A7al_dialect "Provençal
dialect") name
In areas where languages other than French are or were spoken, most place-names
have been translated into a French spelling and pronunciation, such as [Dunkerque]
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunkerque "Dunkerque") (_Duinkerke_ in [Dutch]
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch_language "Dutch language")), Toulouse
(_Tolosa_ in [Occitan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occitan_language "Occitan
language")), [Strasbourg](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strasbourg "Strasbourg")
(_Straßburg_ in [German](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_language "German
language")), [Perpignan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perpignan "Perpignan")
(_Perpinyà_ in [Catalan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catalan_language "Catalan
language")), and many place names derived from
[Gaulish](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaulish_language "Gaulish language") or
[Latin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latin "Latin"). However, many smaller
communes have retained their native name. Other examples of retained names in the
languages once spoken, or still spoken, on French territory:
- [Alsatian](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alsatian_dialect "Alsatian dialect"):

the commune of [Mittelhausbergen](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mittelhausbergen
"Mittelhausbergen") (1,680 inhabitants)
- [Amerindian](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Native_American_languages "Native
American languages"): the commune of [Kourou](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kourou
"Kourou") (19,107 inhabitants)
- [Arpitan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arpitan_language "Arpitan language"): the
commune of [Chamonix](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chamonix "Chamonix") (9,514
inhabitants)
- [Austronesian](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austronesian_languages "Austronesian
languages"): the commune of [Kouaoua](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kouaoua
"Kouaoua") (1,586 inhabitants)
- [Basque](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basque_language "Basque language"): the
commune of [Ainhoa](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ainhoa,_Pyr%C3%A9n%C3%A9es-
Atlantiques "Ainhoa, Pyrénées-Atlantiques") (683 inhabitants)
- [Breton](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breton_language "Breton language"): the
commune of [Brest](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brest,_France "Brest, France")
(141,315 inhabitants)
- [Catalan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catalan_language "Catalan language"): the
commune of [Banyuls-dels-Aspres](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banyuls-dels-Aspres
"Banyuls-dels-Aspres") (1,007 inhabitants)
- [Comorian](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comorian_language "Comorian language"):
the commune of [M’Tsangamouji](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%27Tsangamouji
"M'Tsangamouji") (5,028 inhabitants)
- [Corsican](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corsican_language "Corsican language"):
the commune of [Calvi](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calvi,_Haute-Corse "Calvi,
Haute-Corse") (5,377 inhabitants)
- [Dutch](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch_language "Dutch language"): the
commune of [Steenvoorde](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steenvoorde "Steenvoorde")
(4,024 inhabitants)
- [Italian](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_language "Italian language"): the
commune of [Bocognano](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bocognano "Bocognano") (372
inhabitants)
- [Occitan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occitan_language "Occitan language"): the
commune of [Alès](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al%C3%A8s "Alès") (41,205
inhabitants)
- [Polynesian](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polynesian_languages "Polynesian
languages"): the commune of [Hitiaa O Te
Ra](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hitiaa_O_Te_Ra "Hitiaa O Te Ra") (8,683
inhabitants)
## See also
- [Lists of communes of
France](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lists_of_communes_of_France "Lists of
communes of France")
- [Comune](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comune "Comune") (Italy)
- [Urban areas France](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urban_area_(France) "Urban
area (France)")
## References
### Citations
- ["Définition: Commune"](https://www.insee.fr/fr/metadonnees/definition/c1468) (in

French). [Institut National de la Statistique et des Études
Économiques](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Institut_National_de_la_Statistique_et_d
es_%C3%89tudes_%C3%89conomiques "Institut National de la Statistique et des Études
Économiques").
[Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20220706213927/https://www.insee.fr/fr/
metadonnees/definition/c1468) from the original on 6 July 2022. Retrieved 4 July
2022.
- ["Les collectivités locales en chiffres 2021"](https://www.collectivites-

locales.gouv.fr/files/Accueil/DESL/2021/Colloc%20en%20chiffres/
CL_en_chiffres_2021.pdf) (PDF) (in French). Direction générale des collectivités
locales. p. 18.
[Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20220522235153/https://www.collectivites-
locales.gouv.fr/files/Accueil/DESL/2021/Colloc%20en%20chiffres/
CL_en_chiffres_2021.pdf) (PDF) from the original on 22 May 2022. Retrieved 4 July
2022.
- ["Le code officiel géographique (COG), avant, pendant et autour (Version 3,

volume 1)"](http://projetbabel.org/gl/cog.pdf) (PDF) (in French).
[INSEE](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Institut_national_de_la_statistique_et_des_
%C3%A9tudes_%C3%A9conomiques "Institut national de la statistique et des études
économiques").
[Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20160303202309/http://projetbabel.org/gl/
cog.pdf) (PDF) from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 27 June 2008.
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(https://web.archive.org/web/20140430033500/http://www.insee.fr/fr/themes/
tableau.asp?reg_id=99&ref_id=t_0203R) [Administrative constituencies of 1 January
2015: regional comparisons] (in French).
[INSEE](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Institut_national_de_la_statistique_et_des_
économiques"). Archived from [the
original](http://www.insee.fr/fr/themes/tableau.asp?reg_id=99&ref_id=t_0203R) on 30
April 2014. Retrieved 5 July 2015.
- Parliament (Landtag) of Baden-Württemberg. ["25 Jahre Gemeindereform Baden-

Württemberg; hier: Neuordnung der
Gemeinden"](https://web.archive.org/web/20071128211923/http://www.landtag-bw.de/
wp12/drucksachen/5000/12_5490_d.pdf) (PDF) (in German). Archived from [the
original](http://www.landtag-bw.de/wp12/drucksachen/5000/12_5490_d.pdf) (PDF) on 28
November 2007. Retrieved 25 November 2007.
- gemeindeverzeichnis.de. ["Gemeinden in
Deutschland"](http://www.gemeindeverzeichnis.de/dtland/dtland.htm) (in German).
[Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20181016132547/http://www.gemeindeverzeichni
s.de/dtland/dtland.htm) from the original on 16 October 2018. Retrieved 27 June
2008.
- SPLAF. ["Historique du Bas-Rhin"](http://splaf.free.fr/67his.html) (in French).

[Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20180722175315/http://splaf.free.fr/
67his.html) from the original on 22 July 2018. Retrieved 25 November 2007.
- SPLAF. ["Historique du Haut-Rhin"](http://splaf.free.fr/68his.html) (in French).

[Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20180722175320/http://splaf.free.fr/
68his.html) from the original on 22 July 2018. Retrieved 25 November 2007.
- [Legislation](http://www.droit.org/code/index-CGCTERRL.html)
[Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20050103093724/http://www.droit.org/code/
index-CGCTERRL.html) 3 January 2005 at the [Wayback
Machine](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wayback_Machine "Wayback Machine")
- [Decree](http://www.droit.org/code/index-CGCTERRM.html)
[Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20050112200608/http://www.droit.org/code/
index-CGCTERRM.html) 12 January 2005 at the [Wayback
Machine](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wayback_Machine "Wayback Machine")
- Mark, Harrison W. ["Storming of the

Bastille"](https://www.worldhistory.org/Storming_of_the_Bastille/). _World History
Encyclopedia_.
[Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20221204230414/https://www.worldhistory.org/
Storming_of_the_Bastille/) from the original on 4 December 2022. Retrieved 4
December 2022.
- ["The Territorial Archives will recover eight parish registers from the
eighteenth century"](http://www.soualigapost.com/en/news/6879/culture/territorial-
archives-will-recover-eight-parish-registers-eighteenth-century).
_www.soualigapost.com_. 17 November 2016.
[Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20221204230424/http://www.soualigapost.com/
en/news/6879/culture/territorial-archives-will-recover-eight-parish-registers-
eighteenth-century) from the original on 4 December 2022. Retrieved 4 December
2022.
- Hayward, Jack (26 April 2007). ["French Identity: The National Search for
Retrospective Legitimacy and
Unanimity"](https://academic.oup.com/book/11495/chapter/160219476). _Fragmented
France_. pp. 41–66. [doi](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doi_(identifier) "Doi
(identifier)"):[10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199216314.003.0002](https://doi.org/
10.1093%2Facprof%3Aoso%2F9780199216314.003.0002).
[ISBN](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISBN_(identifier) "ISBN (identifier)") [978-0-
19-921631-4](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-19-921631-4
"Special:BookSources/978-0-19-921631-4"). On 20 September 1792, following the
massacre of some 250 priests, the Legislative Assembly secularized the registration
of births, marriages, and deaths, which became the responsibility of mayors.
- ["Statistique des communes (fin de l'Ancien Régime et XIXe

siècle)"](https://web.archive.org/web/20040901002739/http://big.chez.com/lpcornu/
servstats01.htm) (in French). Archived from [the
original](http://big.chez.com/lpcornu/servstats01.htm) on 1 September 2004.
- [Loi n° 2010-1563 du 16 décembre 2010 de réforme des collectivités territoriales]

(https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/eli/loi/2010/12/16/IOCX0922788L/jo/texte)
[Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20150908082824/http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr
/eli/loi/2010/12/16/IOCX0922788L/jo/texte) 8 September 2015 at the [Wayback
Machine](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wayback_Machine "Wayback Machine"),
_[Légifrance](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%C3%A9gifrance "Légifrance")_
- [Cour des Comptes

2005](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communes_of_France#CITEREFCour_des_Comptes2005)
, p. 8.
- [Direction générale des collectivités locales (DGCL), Ministry of the Interior]

(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minister_of_the_Interior_(France) "Minister of the
Interior (France)"). ["Répartition des EPCI à fiscalité propre par département au
01/01/2007"](https://web.archive.org/web/20070701014149/http://www.dgcl.interieur.g
ouv.fr/donneeschiffrees/interco/stat2007/repart_EPCI_FP_departement.pdf) (PDF) (in
French). Archived from [the
original](http://www.dgcl.interieur.gouv.fr/donneeschiffrees/interco/stat2007/
repart_EPCI_FP_departement.pdf) (PDF) on 1 July 2007. Retrieved 19 May 2007.
1. [Téléchargement du fichier d'ensemble des populations légales en

2017](https://www.insee.fr/fr/statistiques/fichier/4265429/ensemble.pdf) [Archived]
(https://web.archive.org/web/20201005055240/https://www.insee.fr/fr/statistiques/
fichier/4265429/ensemble.pdf) 5 October 2020 at the [Wayback
Machine](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wayback_Machine "Wayback Machine"), [INSEE]
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Institut_national_de_la_statistique_et_des_
économiques")
### Sources
- _[La Documentation française](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Documentation_fran

%C3%A7aise "La Documentation française")_ _[Le développement de l'intercommunalité:
la révolution
discrète](http://www.ladocumentationfrancaise.fr/dossiers/intercommunalite/
index.shtml)
[Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20051012153302/http://www.ladocumentationfra
ncaise.fr/dossiers/intercommunalite/index.shtml) 12 October 2005 at the [Wayback
Machine](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wayback_Machine "Wayback Machine")_ (in
French)
- _[Les villes et communes de France](https://www.lescommunes.com/) [Archived]
(https://web.archive.org/web/20190710203844/https://www.lescommunes.com/) 10 July
2019 at the [Wayback Machine](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wayback_Machine
"Wayback Machine")_ lescommunes.com: contacts, offices du tourisme et maire, Hall
and Tourist Office, statistiques, photographies. (in French)
- Maryvonne Bonnard, _Les collectivités territoriales en France_, 2005, _La
Documentation française_, [ISBN](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)
"ISBN
(identifier)") [2-11-005874-9](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/2-
11-005874-9 "Special:BookSources/2-11-005874-9") (in French)
- Cour des comptes (2005). ["L'intercommunalité en France"](https://www.vie-
publique.fr/sites/default/files/rapport/pdf/054004449.pdf) (PDF). _Journaux
Officiels_. Paris: 370.
[Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20230102131455/https://www.vie-publique.fr/
sites/default/files/rapport/pdf/054004449.pdf) (PDF) from the original on 2 January
2023. Retrieved 8 February 2022.
## External links
- [![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/12px-
Commons-logo.svg.png)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Commons-logo.svg) Media
related to [Communes in
France](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Communes_in_France
"commons:Category:Communes in France") at Wikimedia Commons
- [Complete lists of cities and municipalities in
France](https://www.lescommunes.com/)
|| |
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"Special:EditPage/Template:Communes of France") Communes of [France]
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/France "France") by
[department](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Departments_of_France "Departments of
France") and [metropolitan
region](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Functional_area_(France) "Functional area
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level_administrative_divisions_of_countries "Special:EditPage/Template:Articles on
fourth-level administrative divisions of countries") Articles on fourth-
level [administrative
divisions](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Administrative_division "Administrative
division") of [countries](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_sovereign_states
"List of sovereign states")| |
|---|---|
[Categories](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:Category "Help:Category"):
- [Administrative divisions in
Europe](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Administrative_divisions_in_Europe
"Category:Administrative divisions in Europe")
- [Fifth-level administrative divisions by
country](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Fifth-
level_administrative_divisions_by_country "Category:Fifth-level administrative
divisions by country")
- [Populated places in
France](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Populated_places_in_France
"Category:Populated places in France")
- [Subdivisions of
France](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Subdivisions_of_France
"Category:Subdivisions of France")
- [Local government in
France](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Local_government_in_France
"Category:Local government in France")
- [LAU statistical regions of the European
Union](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:LAU_statistical_regions_of_the_Europe
an_Union "Category:LAU statistical regions of the European Union")
- [Municipalities](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Municipalities
"Category:Municipalities")
- This page was last edited on 4 May 2024, at 08:39 (UTC).

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- [Article](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communes_of_France "View the content page

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For other uses, see [Communal

The **commune** (French pronunciation:

A __commune__ is the smallest and oldest [administrative division in France]

### Number of communes

As of January 2021, there were 35,083 communes in

- COM (_collectivité d'outre-mer_, i.e., [overseas

Furthermore, two regions without permanent habitation have no communes:

- TOM (_territoire d'outre-mer_, i.e., [overseas

### Area of a typical commune

In metropolitan [France](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/France "France"), the

In [Italy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italy "Italy"), the median area of

The communes of France's [overseas _départements_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D

### Population of a typical commune

The [median](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Median "Median") population of

In metropolitan France 57 percent of the 36,683

### Example: Alsace

[Alsace](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alsace "Alsace"), with an area of 8,280 km2

### Status of the communes

Despite differences in population, each of the communes of the French Republic

## History of the French communes

### Kingdom of France

Parishes lacked the municipal structures of post-Revolution communes. Usually, one

#### Chartered cities

Additionally, some cities had obtained

In the north, cities tended to be administered by _échevins_ (from an old Germanic

### French Revolution

Following that event, a ["commune" of

### Trends after the French Revolution

During the revolution, approximately 41,000 communes were

Thus, in Europe, only Switzerland has as high a density of

### Communes nouvelles

In December 2010 the law n° 2010-1563 regarding reform of territorial

The expression "intercommunality" (_intercommunalité_) denotes several forms of

There are two types of these structures:

#### Allocation of government money

[INSEE](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/INSEE "INSEE") _(Institut National de la

- Two digits ([department](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Departments_of_France

Each commune has a [municipal

### Most and least populous communes

- [Paris](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris "Paris") is the most populous commune

### Most and least subdivided communes

### Largest and smallest commune territories

- The largest commune of the French Republic is

### Communes farthest away from the capital city of France

### Shortest and longest commune names

Road sign marking the end of the village of

### Communes with non-French names

[Vacqueyras](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vacqueyras "Vacqueyras") in [Provence]

- [Alsatian](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alsatian_dialect "Alsatian dialect"):

- ["Définition: Commune"](https://www.insee.fr/fr/metadonnees/definition/c1468) (in

- ["Les collectivités locales en chiffres 2021"](https://www.collectivites-

- ["Le code officiel géographique (COG), avant, pendant et autour (Version 3,

- ["Circonscriptions administrative au 1er janvier 2015: comparaisons régionales"]

- Parliament (Landtag) of Baden-Württemberg. ["25 Jahre Gemeindereform Baden-

- SPLAF. ["Historique du Bas-Rhin"](http://splaf.free.fr/67his.html) (in French).

The commune (French pronunciation:

A commune is the smallest and oldest [administrative division in France]