Communes of France

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.  

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?]

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