# Regions of France

France is divided into eighteen administrative regions (French: régions, singular région), of which thirteen are located in metropolitan France (in Europe), while the other five are overseas regions (not to be confused with the overseas collectivities, which have a semi-autonomous status).
All of the thirteen metropolitan administrative regions (including Corsica as of 2019) are further subdivided into two to thirteen administrative departments, with the prefect of each region's administrative centre's department also acting as the regional prefect. The overseas regions administratively consist of only one department each and hence also have the status of overseas departments.
Most administrative regions also have the status of regional territorial collectivities, which comes with a local government, with departmental and communal collectivities below the regional level. The exceptions are Corsica, French Guiana, Mayotte and Martinique, where region and department functions are managed by single local governments having consolidated jurisdiction and which are known as single territorial collectivities.

## History
### 1982–2015

The term région was officially created by the Law of Decentralisation (2 March 1982), which also gave regions their legal status. The first direct elections for regional representatives took place on 16 March 1986.
Between 1982 and 2015, there were 22 regions in Metropolitan France. Before 2011, there were four overseas regions (French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, and Réunion); in 2011 Mayotte became the fifth.
Regions of France between 2011 and 2015 :
* Nord-Pas de Calais
* Picardy
* Upper Normandy
* Île-de- France
* Champagne- Ardenne
* Lorraine
* Alsace
* Franche- Comté
* Burgundy
* Centre- Val de Loire
* Pays de la Loire
* Brittany
* Lower Normandy
* Poitou- Charentes
* Limousin
* Auvergne
* Rhône- Alpes
* Aquitaine
* Midi-Pyrénées
* Languedoc- Roussillon
* Provence- Alpes- Côte d'Azur
* Corsica
* French Guiana
* Guadeloupe
* Martinique
* Mayotte
* RéunionBelgium
* Luxembourg
* Germany
* Switzerland
* Italy
* United Kingdom
* Andorra
* Brazil
* Suriname
* Spain
* MonacoChannel
* Bay of Biscay
* Ligurian Sea
* Mediterranean Sea
Regions in Metropolitan France between 1982 and 2015 :
| Region | French name | Other local name(s) | INSEE No. | Capital | Derivation or etymology |
| Alsace | Alsace | Alsatian: Elsàss German: Elsass | 42 | Strasbourg | Formerly a coalition of free cities in Holy Roman Empire, attached to Kingdom of France in 1648; annexed by Germany from Franco-Prussian war to the end of World War I and briefly during World War II |
| Aquitaine | Aquitaine | Occitan: Aquitània Basque: Akitania Saintongeais : Aguiéne | 72 | Bordeaux | Guyenne and Gascony |
| Auvergne | Auvergne | Occitan: Auvèrnhe / Auvèrnha | 83 | Clermont-Ferrand | Former province of Auvergne |
| Brittany | Bretagne | Breton: Breizh Gallo: Bertaèyn | 53 | Rennes | Duchy of Brittany |
| Burgundy | Bourgogne | Burgundian: Bregogne / Borgoégne Arpitan: Borgogne | 26 | Dijon | Duchy of Burgundy |
| Centre-Val de Loire | Centre-Val de Loire | | 24 | Orléans | Located in north-central France; straddles the middle of the Loire Valley |
| Champagne-Ardenne | Champagne-Ardenne | | 21 | Châlons-en- Champagne | Former province of Champagne |
| Corsica | Corse | | 94 | Ajaccio | |
| Franche-Comté | Franche-Comté | Franc-Comtois: Fràntche-Comté Arpitan: Franche-Comtât | 43 | Besançon | Free County of Burgundy (Franche-Comté) |
| Île-de-France | Île-de-France | | 11 | Paris | Province of Île-de-France and parts of the former province of Champagne |
| Languedoc-Roussillon | Languedoc-Roussillon | Occitan: Lengadòc-Rosselhon Catalan: Llenguadoc-Rosselló | 91 | Montpellier | Former provinces of Languedoc and Roussillon |
| Limousin | Limousin | Occitan: Lemosin | 74 | Limoges | Former province of Limousin and parts of Marche, Berry, Auvergne, Poitou and Angoumois |
| Lorraine | Lorraine | German: Lothringen Lorraine Franconian: Lottringe | 41 | Metz | Named for Charlemagne's son Lothair I, the kingdom of Lotharingia is etymologically the source for the name Lorraine (duchy), Lothringen (German), Lottringe (Lorraine Franconian) |
| Lower Normandy | Basse-Normandie | Norman: Basse-Normaundie Breton: Normandi-Izel | 25 | Caen | Western half of former province of Normandy |
| Midi-Pyrénées | Midi-Pyrénées | Occitan: Miègjorn-Pirenèus Occitan: Mieidia-Pirenèus | 73 | Toulouse | None; created for Toulouse |
| Nord-Pas-de-Calais | Nord-Pas-de-Calais | Picard: Nord-Pas-Calés | 31 | Lille | Nord and Pas-de-Calais departments |
| Pays de la Loire | Pays de la Loire | Breton: Broioù al Liger | 52 | Nantes | None; created for Nantes |
| Picardy | Picardie | | 22 | Amiens | Former province of Picardy |
| Poitou-Charentes | Poitou-Charentes | Occitan: Peitau-Charantas Poitevin and Saintongeais : Poetou-Chérentes | 54 | Poitiers | Former provinces of Angoumois, Aunis, Poitou and Saintonge |
| Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (PACA) | Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (PACA) | Provençal: Provença-Aups-Còsta d'Azur (Prouvènço-Aup-Costo d'Azur) | 93 | Marseille | Former historical province of Provence and County of Nice annexed by France in 1860. |
| Rhône-Alpes | Rhône-Alpes | Arpitan: Rôno-Arpes Occitan: Ròse Aups | 82 | Lyon | Created for Lyon from Dauphiné and Lyonnais provinces and Savoy |
| Upper Normandy | Haute-Normandie | Norman: Ĥâote-Normaundie Breton: Normandi-Uhel | 23 | Rouen | Eastern half of former province of Normandy |

### Reform and mergers of regions

In 2014, the French parliament passed a law reducing the number of metropolitan regions from 22 to 13 effective 1 January 2016.
The law gave interim names for most of the new regions by combining the names of the former regions, e.g. the region composed of Aquitaine, Poitou-Charentes and Limousin was temporarily called Aquitaine-Limousin-Poitou-Charentes. However, the combined region of Upper and Lower Normandy was simply called "Normandy" (Normandie). Permanent names were proposed by the new regional councils by 1 July 2016 and new names confirmed by the Conseil d'État by 30 September 2016. The legislation defining the new regions also allowed the Centre region to officially change its name to "Centre-Val de Loire" with effect from January 2015. Two regions, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, opted to retain their interim names.
* Overview of merger proposals for the metropolitan territory
* Édouard Balladur's proposal
* Manuel Valls's proposal A
* Manuel Valls's proposal B
* President François Hollande's proposal
* Regions as instituted by the National Assembly in 2014
Given below is a table of former regions and which new region they became part of.
| Former region | Former region | New region | New region |
| Former region | Former region | Interim name | Final name |
| | Auvergne | Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes | Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes |
| | Rhône-Alpes | Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes | Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes |
| | Burgundy | Bourgogne-Franche-Comté | Bourgogne-Franche-Comté |
| | Franche-Comté | Bourgogne-Franche-Comté | Bourgogne-Franche-Comté |
| | Brittany | Brittany | Brittany |
| | Centre-Val de Loire | Centre-Val de Loire | Centre-Val de Loire |
| | Corsica | Corsica | Corsica |
| | French Guiana | French Guiana | French Guiana |
| | Alsace | Alsace-Champagne-Ardenne-Lorraine | Grand Est |
| | Champagne-Ardenne | Alsace-Champagne-Ardenne-Lorraine | Grand Est |
| | Lorraine | Alsace-Champagne-Ardenne-Lorraine | Grand Est |
| | Guadeloupe | Guadeloupe | Guadeloupe |
| | Nord-Pas-de-Calais | Nord-Pas-de-Calais-Picardie | Hauts-de-France |
| | Picardy | Nord-Pas-de-Calais-Picardie | Hauts-de-France |
| | Île-de-France | Île-de-France | Île-de-France |
| | Martinique | Martinique | Martinique |
| | Mayotte | Mayotte | Mayotte |
| | Lower Normandy | Normandy | Normandy |
| | Upper Normandy | Normandy | Normandy |
| | Aquitaine | Aquitaine-Limousin-Poitou-Charentes | Nouvelle-Aquitaine |
| | Limousin | Aquitaine-Limousin-Poitou-Charentes | Nouvelle-Aquitaine |
| | Poitou-Charentes | Aquitaine-Limousin-Poitou-Charentes | Nouvelle-Aquitaine |
| | Languedoc-Roussillon | Languedoc-Roussillon-Midi-Pyrénées | Occitanie |
| | Midi-Pyrénées | Languedoc-Roussillon-Midi-Pyrénées | Occitanie |
| | Pays de la Loire | Pays de la Loire | Pays de la Loire |
| | Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur | Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur | Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur |
| | Réunion | Réunion | Réunion |

## List of administrative regions

| Type | Region | Other local name(s) | ISO | INSEE No. | Capital | Area (km$^2$) | Population | Seats in Regional council | Former regions (until 2016) | President of the Regional Council |
| Metropolitan | Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (Auvergne-Rhône-Alps) | Occitan: Auvèrnhe-Ròse-Aups Arpitan: Ôvèrgne-Rôno-Arpes | FR-ARA | 84 | Lyon | 69,711 | 8,042,936 | 204 | Auvergne Rhône-Alpes | Laurent Wauquiez (LR) |
| Metropolitan | Bourgogne-Franche-Comté (Burgundy-Free-County) | Arpitan: Borgogne-Franche-Comtât | FR-BFC | 27 | Dijon | 47,784 | 2,805,580 | 100 | Burgundy Franche-Comté | Marie-Guite Dufay (PS) |
| Metropolitan | Bretagne (Brittany) | Breton: Breizh Gallo: Bertaèyn | FR-BRE | 53 | Rennes | 27,208 | 3,354,854 | 83 | unchanged | Loïg Chesnais-Girard (PS) |
| Metropolitan | Centre-Val de Loire (Central-Vale of the Loire) | | FR-CVL | 24 | Orléans | 39,151 | 2,573,180 | 77 | unchanged | François Bonneau (PS) |
| Metropolitan | Corse (Corsica) | Corsican: Corsica | FR-20R | 94 | Ajaccio | 8,680 | 340,440 | 63 | unchanged | Jean-Guy Talamoni (CL) |
| Metropolitan | Grand Est (Greater East) | German: Großer Osten | FR-GES | 44 | Strasbourg | 57,441 | 5,556,219 | 169 | Alsace Champagne-Ardenne Lorraine | Jean Rottner (LR) |
| Metropolitan | Hauts-de-France (Heights-of-France) | | FR-HDF | 32 | Lille | 31,806 | 6,004,947 | 170 | Nord-Pas-de-Calais Picardy | Xavier Bertrand (LR) |
| Metropolitan | Île-de-France (Isle-of-France) | Breton: Enez-Frañs | FR-IDF | 11 | Paris | 12,011 | 12,262,544 | 209 | unchanged | Valérie Pécresse (LR) |
| Metropolitan | Normandie (Normandy) | Norman: Normaundie Breton: Normandi | FR-NOR | 28 | Rouen | 29,907 | 3,325,032 | 102 | Upper Normandy Lower Normandy | Hervé Morin (LC) |
| Metropolitan | Nouvelle-Aquitaine (New Aquitaine) | Occitan: Nòva Aquitània / Nava Aquitània / Novela Aquitània Basque: Akitania Berria | FR-NAQ | 75 | Bordeaux | 84,036 | 6,010,289 | 183 | Aquitaine Limousin Poitou-Charentes | Alain Rousset (PS) |
| Metropolitan | Occitanie (Occitania) | Occitan: Occitània Catalan: Occitània | FR-OCC | 76 | Toulouse | 72,724 | 5,933,185 | 158 | Languedoc-Roussillon Midi-Pyrénées | Carole Delga (PS) |
| Metropolitan | Pays de la Loire (Lands of the Loire) | Breton: Broioù al Liger | FR-PDL | 52 | Nantes | 32,082 | 3,806,461 | 93 | unchanged | Christelle Morançais (LR) |
| Metropolitan | Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (Provence-Alps-Azure Coast) | Provençal: Provença-Aups-Còsta d'Azur (Prouvènço-Aup-Costo d'Azur) | FR-PAC | 93 | Marseille | 31,400 | 5,081,101 | 123 | unchanged | Renaud Muselier (LR) |
| Overseas | Guadeloupe | Antillean Creole: Gwadloup | GP | 01 | Basse-Terre | 1,628 | 384,239 | 41 | unchanged | Ary Chalus (GUSR) |
| Overseas | Guyane (French Guiana) | French Guianese Creole: Lagwiyann or Gwiyann | GF | 03 | Cayenne | 83,534 | 281,678 | 51 | unchanged | Rodolphe Alexandre (PSG) |
| Overseas | La Réunion (Réunion) | Reunion Creole: La Rényon | RE | 04 | Saint-Denis | 2,504 | 861,210 | 45 | unchanged | Didier Robert (LR) |
| Overseas | Martinique | Antillean Creole: Matinik | MQ | 02 | Fort-de-France | 1,128 | 364,508 | 51 | unchanged | Claude Lise (RDM) |
| Overseas | Mayotte | Shimaore: Maore Malagasy: Mahori | YT | 06 | Mamoudzou | 374 | 262,895 | 26 | unchanged | Soibahadine Ibrahim Ramadani (LR) |
| | | | | | | 632,734 | 68,035,000 | 1,910 | | |

## Role

Regions lack separate legislative authority and therefore cannot write their own statutory law. They levy their own taxes and, in return, receive a decreasing part of their budget from the central government, which gives them a portion of the taxes it levies. They also have considerable budgets managed by a regional council (conseil régional) made up of representatives voted into office in regional elections.
A region's primary responsibility is to build and furnish high schools. In March 2004, the French central government unveiled a controversial plan to transfer regulation of certain categories of non-teaching school staff to the regional authorities. Critics of this plan contended that tax revenue was insufficient to pay for the resulting costs, and that such measures would increase regional inequalities.
In addition, regions have considerable discretionary power over infrastructural spending, e.g., education, public transit, universities and research, and assistance to business owners. This has meant that the heads of wealthy regions such as Île-de-France or Rhône-Alpes can be high-profile positions.
Proposals to give regions limited legislative autonomy have met with considerable resistance; others propose transferring certain powers from the departments to their respective regions, leaving the former with limited authority.

### Regional control

Number of regions controlled by each coalition since 1986.
| Elections | Presidencies | Presidencies | Presidencies | Map |
| Elections | Left | Right | Other | Map |
| 1986 | 5 | 21 | – | |
| 1992 | 4 | 21 | 1 | |
| 1998 | 10 | 15 | 1 | |
| 2004 | 23 | 2 | 1 | |
| 2010 | 23 | 3 | – | |
| 2015 | 7 | 8 | 2 | |
| 2021 | 6 | 8 | 4 | |

## Overseas regions

Overseas region (French: Région d'outre-mer) is a recent designation, given to the overseas departments that have similar powers to those of the regions of metropolitan France. As integral parts of the French Republic, they are represented in the National Assembly, Senate and Economic and Social Council, elect a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) and use the euro as their currency.
Although these territories have had these political powers since 1982, when France's decentralisation policy dictated that they be given elected regional councils along with other regional powers, the designation overseas regions dates only to the 2003 constitutional change; indeed, the new wording of the constitution aims to give no precedence to either appellation overseas department or overseas region, although the second is still virtually unused by French media.
The following have overseas region status:
* in the Indian Ocean (Africa):
** Mayotte
** Réunion
* in the Americas:
** French Guiana in South America
** Guadeloupe in the Antilles (Caribbean)
** Martinique in the Antilles (Caribbean)
    ^ Saint Pierre and Miquelon (located just south of Newfoundland, Canada, in North America), once an overseas department, was demoted to a territorial collectivity in 1985.