French regions

French regions are territorial divisions of France that organize regional government and public services. Metropolitan France has 13 regions, while overseas France has five.

Administrative division of France: The territorial framework through which France organizes national and local government. Regions are one tier in France’s wider system of territorial administration.
Regional council (France): The elected assembly that governs a French region and sets its regional policies. Regional councils are the elected institutions through which regions exercise their responsibilities.
Regions of France before 2016: The 22 metropolitan administrative regions that existed in France before the 2016 territorial reform. Comparing the former map explains which regions merged into today’s larger units.
Brittany: A region in northwestern France with a strong Breton cultural and linguistic heritage. Brittany shows how a modern region can overlap with a longstanding cultural territory.
French departments: Territorial subdivisions of France that serve as units of local government and state administration. Departments sit below regions and retain substantial roles in local public services.
Regional president (France): The elected head of a French regional council and its executive authority. The president leads the council that administers regional policy and spending.
French regional reform of 2015: A French law that reduced metropolitan regions from 22 to 13, effective in 2016. This reform established the present metropolitan regional map.
Alsace: A historic region in northeastern France shaped by both French and German cultural influences. Alsace’s border history gives its regional identity a distinctive character.
French communes: The smallest administrative divisions of France, ranging from villages to major cities. Communes are the local units grouped within departments and regions.
French regional elections: Elections that choose the members of France’s regional councils. These elections determine the political leadership of each region.

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