Territorial collectivity

A Territorial collectivity (French: collectivité territoriale, previously collectivité locale) within the French Republic is the generic name for all subnational entities and dependent areas which have an elected local government and (per article #72 of the French constitution) a "certain freedom of administration".

Categories

• Regions: There are 22 regions in metropolitan France and 5 ROM (overseas regions).
• Departments : There are 96 departments in metropolitan France and 5 DOM (overseas departments).
• Collectivités d'outre-mer (COM) : There are 5 COM, all overseas.
• Provinces : There are 3 provinces, all in New Caledonia.
• Communes : There are 36,782 communes, in all the French inhabited territories except Saint-Barthélemy, Saint-Martin and Wallis and Futuna.

Other facts

• New Caledonia is the only French local government which is not a collectivité territoriale. It has its own articles in the French constitution. Since it cannot be categorized, it sometimes unofficially is called a collectivité sui generis, but "collectivity" is not strictly-speaking a legal category. It is sometimes unofficially called a pays (d'outre-mer) because its local legislative assembly (the congress) can rule using its own lois du pays.
• Corsica is the only collectivité territoriale which belongs to no category, but its status is very close to that of régions.
• The régions and Corsica are divided into départements ; ROMs are divided into DOMs ; New Caledonia is divided into provinces ; départements, COMs (except Saint-Barthelemy, Saint-Martin and Wallis and Futuna), DOMs and provinces all are divided into communes.
• The commune of Poya is the only territorial entity belonging to two upper entities (provinces North and South).
• Paris, French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Mayotte, and La Réunion are the only territorial entities belonging to two categories. Paris is both a département and a commune, and the others are both ROM and DOM. Paris therefore has one single president and one single assembly, while ROM / DOM each have two presidents and two assemblies.
• Each COM has its own statutory law which gives it a particular designation (French Polynesia is designated as a pays d'outre-mer, Saint-Barthelemy and Saint-Martin as collectivités, Saint-Pierre and Miquelon as a collectivité territoriale, and Wallis and Futuna as a territoire).

Administration

• The assembly of a région and of a ROM is called a conseil régional. They are presided over by a président du conseil régional.
• The assembly of a département (except Paris) or that of a DOM is called a conseil général. They are presided over by a président du conseil général.
• The assembly of a province is called an assemblée de province. It is presided over by a président de l'assemblée de province.
• A commune's assembly (except that of Paris) is called a conseil municipal. It is presided over by a maire.
• Paris' assembly is called the conseil de Paris. It is presided over by the maire de Paris.
• Corsica's assembly is called the assemblée de Corse (Corsican Assembly). It is presided over by the President of the Regional Council.
• The Assembly of French Polynesia is presided over by the président de la Polynésie française.
• Saint-Barthelemy, Saint-Martin and Saint-Pierre and Miquelon's assemblies are called conseil territorial. They are presided over by a président du conseil territorial.
• Wallis and Futuna's assembly is called an assemblée territoriale. It is presided over by the Prefect.
• New Caledonia's assembly is called a congrès. It is presided over by the président du gouvernement.

Past and future collectivités territoriales

• The category of territoires d'outre-mer was suppressed under the constitutional reform of 28 March 2003. French Southern Territories is still a TOM, but this is now a particular designation, not a category. This uninhabited territory no longer is a collectivité territoriale.
• Mayotte, and Saint Pierre and Miquelon, used to be collectivités territoriales belonging to no category (but with a status close to that of a DOM), sometimes unofficially called collectivité territoriale à statut particulier, or collectivité territoriale d'outre-mer.
• Mayotte held a vote in 2009 to change its status, and became a ROM in 2011.
• New Caledonia will vote between 2014 and 2019 to change its status, and it may become a COM.
• Corsicans have refused to suppress the two départements of Corsica (Corse-du-Sud and Haute-Corse).
• Guadeloupians and Réunionnais have refused to suppress their ROM and DOM in order to create a unique collectivité territoriale.

See also

• Subdivisions of France
• Local government