Regions of France

All 13 mainland administrative regions (including Corsica ) are further subdivided into 2 to 13 administrative departments, with the prefect of each region's administrative center's department also acting as the regional prefect.

In the administrative divisions of France, the department (département, ) is one of the three levels of government below the national level ("territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the commune.

All 13 mainland administrative regions (including Corsica ) are further subdivided into 2 to 13 administrative departments, with the prefect of each region's administrative center's department also acting as the regional prefect.

Corsica (Corse ; Corsica in Corsican and Italian, pronounced and respectively) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the 18 regions of France.

The exceptions are Corsica, the 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". Before 2011, there were four overseas regions (French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, and Réunion); in 2011 Mayotte became the fifth.

French Guiana ( or ; Guyane ) is an overseas department and region of France on the northern, Atlantic coast of South America in the Guianas.

The exceptions are Corsica, the 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". Before 2011, there were four overseas regions (French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, and Réunion); in 2011 Mayotte became the fifth.

Martinique (, ; Martinican Creole: Matnik or Matinik) is an insular region of France located in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean Sea, with a land area of 1128 km2 and a population of 376,480 inhabitants as of January 2016.

France is divided into 18 administrative regions (régions, singular région ), of which 13 are located in metropolitan France (i.e. on the European continent), while the other five are overseas regions (not be confused with the "overseas collectivities", which have a semi-autonomous status).

All 13 mainland administrative regions (including Corsica ) are further subdivided into 2 to 13 administrative departments, with the prefect of each region's administrative center's department also acting as the regional prefect.

A prefect (préfet) in France is the state's representative in a department or region.

Before 2011, there were four overseas regions (French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, and Réunion); in 2011 Mayotte became the fifth.

Guadeloupe (, ; Antillean Creole: Gwadloup) is an archipelago forming an overseas region of France in the Caribbean.

From 1982 to 2016, Alsace was the smallest administrative région in metropolitan France, consisting of the Bas-Rhin and Haut-Rhin 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 region level.

Strasbourg (, ;, ; Straßburg ) is the capital and largest city of the Grand Est region of France and is the official seat of the European Parliament.

Before 2011, there were four overseas regions (French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, and Réunion); in 2011 Mayotte became the fifth.

Like the other four overseas departments, it is also one of the 18 regions of France, with the modified status of overseas region, and an integral part of the republic with the same status as Metropolitan France.

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.

Aquitaine (,, ; Aquitània; Akitania; Poitevin-Saintongeais: Aguiéne), archaic Guyenne/Guienne (Guiana), is a historical region of southwestern France and a former administrative region of the country.

Auvergne (, ; Auvèrnhe or Auvèrnha) is a former administrative region in south-central France, comprising the four departments of Allier, Puy-de-Dôme, Cantal and Haute-Loire.

Clermont-Ferrand (, ; Clharmou; Augustonemetum) is a city and commune of France, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, with a population of 141,569 (2012).

Brittany (Breizh, ; Bretagne, ) is the farthest west of the 13 regions of France.

It is currently divided between the region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine (departments of Landes, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, southwestern Gironde, and southern Lot-et-Garonne) and the region of Occitanie (departments of Gers, Hautes-Pyrénées, southwestern Tarn-et-Garonne, and western Haute-Garonne).

The exceptions are Corsica, the 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".

A single territorial collectivity (collectivité territoriale unique) is a chartered subdivision of France that exerts both the powers of a region and a department.

Burgundy (Bourgogne ) is a historical territory and a former administrative region of east-central France.

It is the capital of the Loiret department and of the Centre-Val de Loire region.

Champagne-Ardenne is a former administrative region of France, located in the northeast of the country, bordering Belgium.

In modern times the departments have also joined into administrative regions although the administrative region of Brittany does not encompass the entirety of the medieval duchy.

This has meant that the heads of wealthy regions such as Île-de-France or Rhône-Alpes can be high-profile positions.

Île-de-France (, ; literally "Island of France") is the most populous of the 18 regions of France.

Languedoc-Roussillon (Lengadòc-Rosselhon; Llenguadoc-Rosselló) is a former administrative region of France.

From 1956 to 2015, the Franche-Comté was a French administrative region.

Its territory is now contained in the modern-day region of Occitanie in the south of France.