Communes of France - Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Communes of France
Map of the 36,569 communes of metropolitan France
CategoryMunicipality
LocationFrance
Found inDepartments
Number34,966 (List) (as of January 2021)
Populations0 (Several) – 2,175,601 (Paris)
GovernmentMunicipal Council

A commune is the lowest administrative division in France. It represents all parts of a town or a village under the same name, for example Paris, Bordeaux or Rennes. As of January 1, 2008, there were 36,781 communes in France; 36,569 of them are in metropolitan France and 212 of them are in overseas France.[1][2] This is much more than in any other European country. Every commune in France elects a mayor. The French word commune was first used in the 12th century[source?], from Medieval Latin communia, meaning a small gathering of people sharing a common life, from Latin communis, things held in common.[source?]

References[change | change source]

  1. (in French) "Code officiel géographique - Présentation". INSEE. Retrieved 27 June 2008.
  2. (in French) "Code des collectivités d'outre-mer (COM)". INSEE. Retrieved 27 June 2008.