An ''arrondissement'' (, ) is the third level of administrative division in France generally corresponding to the territory overseen by a subprefect. As of 2023, the 101 French departments are divided into 333 arrondissements (including 13 overseas). The capital of an arrondissement is called a

subprefecture A subprefecture is an administrative division of a country that is below prefecture or province. Albania There are twelve Counties of Albania, Albanian counties or prefectures, each of which is divided into several Districts of Albania, district ...

. When an arrondissement contains the

prefecture A prefecture (from the Latin word, "''praefectura"'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain inter ...

(capital) of the department, that prefecture is the capital of the arrondissement, acting both as a prefecture and as a subprefecture. Arrondissements are further divided into communes. The term

arrondissement An arrondissement (, , ) is any of various administrative divisions of France, Belgium, Haiti, and certain other Francophone countries, as well as the Netherlands. Europe France The 101 French departments are divided into 342 ''arrondissem ...

can be roughly translated into English as district. Some municipalities in

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

are divided into arrondissements, reflecting the province’s historical link to

New France New France (, ) was the territory colonized by Kingdom of France, France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Kingdom of Great Br ...

Role and administration

The administration of an arrondissement is assigned to a subprefect () who assists the departmental prefect (). Unlike French regions, departments and communes, arrondissements do not have the status of

legal entity In law, a legal person is any person or legal entity that can do the things a human person is usually able to do in law – such as enter into contracts, lawsuit, sue and be sued, ownership, own property, and so on. The reason for the term "''le ...

public law Public law is the part of law that governs relations and affairs between legal persons and a government, between different institutions within a state, between different branches of governments, as well as relationships between persons that ...

. In addition, unlike those other administrative divisions, they are not run by elected officials, but by political appointees, officials appointed by the French president.

History

The concept of arrondissements was proposed several times as an administrative reform during the ''

Ancien Régime ''Ancien'' may refer to * the French word for " ancient, old" ** Société des anciens textes français * the French for "former, senior" ** Virelai ancien ** Ancien Régime ** Ancien Régime in France {{disambig ...

'', notably by the ''

intendant An intendant (; ; ) was, and sometimes still is, a public official, especially in France, Spain, Portugal, and Latin America. The intendancy system was a centralizing administrative system developed in France. In the War of the Spanish Success ...

'' of the généralité of

Brittany Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...

, Caze de La Bove, in his ''Mémoire concernant les subdélégués de l'intendance de Bretagne'' in 1775. The arrondissements were created after the French Revolution by the ''Loi du 28

pluviôse Pluviôse (; also ''Pluviose'') was the fifth month in the French Republican Calendar. The month was named after the Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European langua ...

'' in the year VIII of the Republican Calendar (17 February 1800) and replaced "districts". In certain periods in French history, they have served a role in legislative elections, especially during the Third Republic. In 1926, 106 arrondissements were suppressed by the government.List of the arrondissements suppressed in 1926
/ref> While it claimed it was to achieve fiscal savings, some political analysts considered the results electoral manipulation. Some of these suppressed arrondissements were restored in 1942.

Changes

The most recent creations and disestablishments of arrondissements are listed in the table below.

Statistics

Most departments have three or four arrondissements. The departments of

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

and of the Territoire de Belfort have only one, while the department of

Pas-de-Calais The Pas-de-Calais (, ' strait of Calais'; ; ) is a department in northern France named after the French designation of the Strait of Dover, which it borders. It has the most communes of all the departments of France, with 890, and is the ...

has seven.

Mayotte Mayotte ( ; , ; , ; , ), officially the Department of Mayotte (), is an Overseas France, overseas Overseas departments and regions of France, department and region and single territorial collectivity of France. It is one of the Overseas departm ...

has none.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Arrondissements Of France Subdivisions of France

France 3 France 3 () is a French free-to-air Public broadcasting, public television network. The second flagship network of France Télévisions, it broadcasts a wide range of general and specialized programming. France 3 is structured as a Region ...

Role and administration

History

Changes

Statistics

See also

References