In France, a ''pays'' () is an area whose inhabitants share common geographical, economic, cultural, or social interests, who have a right to enter into communal planning contracts under a
law
Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...
known as the Loi Pasqua or LOADT (''Loi d'Orientation pour l'Aménagement et le Développement du Territoire''; en, Directive law concerning territorial planning and development), which took effect on February 4, 1995.
It was augmented on June 25, 1999, by the Loi Voynet or LOADDT (''Loi d'Orientation de l'Aménagement Durable du Territoire''). The LOADDT enables the citizens of a community to form a legally recognized ''pays'' after deciding to do so by mutual consent; its aim is to help bring the inhabitants of urban and neighboring rural districts into dialogue and agreement.
The Council of Development in each ''pays'' assembles together the elected officials and the economic, social, and cultural actors, and their associates, into a deliberative forum to discuss the development policies which should be followed by the community. While the Council can give advice, submit proposals, and monitor development projects, it does not have the authority to make official decisions.
The Charter of the ''Pays'' makes it possible to fix the stakes and the objectives of the community. Few structures are recognized as ''pays Voynet'', meaning nationwide, because the recognition criteria are sometimes far from what the ''pays'' are. Then again, several ''pays'' are recognized by the Commission Régionale d'aménagement et de développement du Territoire.
Sense of the word
In France, the contract of the ''Pays'' can be signed among the members of the ''pays'', or between the ''pays'' and its surrounding area, the department, the
region
In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics ( physical geography), human impact characteristics ( human geography), and the interaction of humanity an ...
, or with the national state when the stakes are well-identified.
In this context, the French term ''pays'' is not used in the modern sense of "
country
A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while ...
" but preserves the original meaning of the
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
word from which it was derived, ''
pagus
In ancient Rome, the Latin word (plural ) was an administrative term designating a rural subdivision of a tribal territory, which included individual farms, villages (), and strongholds () serving as refuges, as well as an early medieval geogra ...
'', which designated the territory controlled by a
medieval
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...
count
Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...
. The majority of ''pays'' are roughly coextensive with the old counties (e.g., county of Comminges, county of
Ponthieu
Ponthieu (, ) was one of six feudal counties that eventually merged to become part of the Province of Picardy, in northern France.Dunbabin.France in the Making. Ch.4. The Principalities 888-987 Its chief town is Abbeville.
History
Ponthieu play ...
, etc). Today ''Pays de France'' still refers to a tiny area in northwest Ile-de-France, hence city names such as ''Roissy-en-France'' or ''Tremblay-en-France''.
Although this word is frequently translated into English as ''country,'' its usage can mean ''a region or territory of a nation (bounded by borders and constituting a geographical entity) considered from the point of view of a certain identity or community of interest of its inhabitants''. However, this usage is also sometimes found in English word ''country'' , for example for the
constituent countries of the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (UK), since 1922, comprises three constituent countries and a region: England, Scotland, and Wales (which collectively make up the region of Great Britain), as well as Northern Ireland, a ...
. It is held to be ''the geographical basis of the state''. The word is also used less precisely as an alternative for ''état'' (state).
''Pays'' of Brittany
Brittany
Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period ...
, consisting of 4 departments, is also subdivided into 21 ''pays''.
* pays de
Brest
Brest may refer to:
Places
*Brest, Belarus
**Brest Region
**Brest Airport
**Brest Fortress
* Brest, Kyustendil Province, Bulgaria
* Břest, Czech Republic
*Brest, France
** Arrondissement of Brest
**Brest Bretagne Airport
** Château de Brest
*Br ...
* pays de
Cornouaille
Cornouaille (; br, Kernev, Kerne) is a historical region on the west coast of Brittany in West France. The name is cognate with Cornwall in neighbouring Great Britain. This can be explained by the settlement of Cornouaille by migrant princ ...
Morlaix
Morlaix (; br, Montroulez) is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in northwestern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department.
Leisure and tourism
The old quarter of the town has winding streets of cobbled stones and overha ...
Guingamp
Guingamp (; ) is a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department in Brittany in northwestern France. With a population of 6,895 as of 2017, Guingamp is one of the smallest towns in Europe to have a top-tier professional football team: En Avant Gui ...
Pontivy
Pontivy (; ) is a commune in the Morbihan department in Brittany in north-western France. It lies at the confluence of the river Blavet and the Canal de Nantes à Brest. Inhabitants of Pontivy are called ''Pontivyens'' in French.
Map
History
A ...
* pays de
Lorient
Lorient (; ) is a town ('' commune'') and seaport in the Morbihan department of Brittany in western France.
History
Prehistory and classical antiquity
Beginning around 3000 BC, settlements in the area of Lorient are attested by the presen ...
Vannes
Vannes (; br, Gwened) is a commune in the Morbihan department in Brittany in north-western France. It was founded over 2,000 years ago.
History Celtic Era
The name ''Vannes'' comes from the Veneti, a seafaring Celtic people who live ...
Brocéliande
Brocéliande, earlier known as Brécheliant and Brécilien, is a legendary enchanted forest that had a reputation in the medieval European imagination as a place of magic and mystery. Brocéliande is featured in several medieval texts, mostly r ...
* pays de
Dinan
Dinan (; ) is a walled Breton town and a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department in northwestern France. On 1 January 2018, the former commune of Léhon was merged into Dinan.
Geography
Its geographical setting is exceptional. Instead o ...
* pays de
Saint-Malo
Saint-Malo (, , ; Gallo: ; ) is a historic French port in Ille-et-Vilaine, Brittany, on the English Channel coast.
The walled city had a long history of piracy, earning much wealth from local extortion and overseas adventures. In 1944, the Alli ...
* pays de
Fougères
Fougères (; br, Felger; Gallo: ''Foujerr'') is a commune and a sub-prefecture of the Ille-et-Vilaine department in the region of Brittany in northwestern France.
As of 2017, Fougères had 20,418 inhabitants. The Fougères area comprises appr ...
Loire Atlantique
Loire-Atlantique (; br, Liger-Atlantel; before 1957: ''Loire-Inférieure'', br, Liger-Izelañ, link=no) is a department in Pays de la Loire on the west coast of France, named after the river Loire and the Atlantic Ocean. It had a population o ...
.
''Pays'' of Franche-Comté
La Franche-Comté, consisting of 4 departments, is also subdivided into 16 pays :
* pays de l'Aire Urbaine (Belfort-Montbéliard-Héricourt-Delle )
* pays du
Doubs Central
Doubs (, ; ; frp, Dubs) is a department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in Eastern France. Named after the river Doubs, it had a population of 543,974 in 2019.Haut-Doubs
* pays Horloger
* pays de
Loue Lison
The Loue () is a river of eastern France, a left tributary of the Doubs, which it joins downstream of Dole. It is long. Its source is a karst spring in the Jura mountains near Ouhans, which at least partly receives its water from the Doubs. Thi ...
Haut Jura
The Jura Mountains ( , , , ; french: Massif du Jura; german: Juragebirge; it, Massiccio del Giura, rm, Montagnas da Jura) are a Montane ecosystem, sub-alpine mountain range a short distance north of the Western Alps and mainly demarcate a long ...
Pays d'outre mer
Overseas country (french: Pays d' outre-mer) is the designation for the overseas collectivity of French Polynesia. French Polynesia was an overseas territory until the constitutional reform on 28 March 2003 created the overseas collectivities. Th ...
*
Pays-d'en-Haut (disambiguation) Pays-d'en-Haut may refer to:
* Pays d'en Haut, territory of New France (1610–1763)
* Les Pays-d'en-Haut Regional County Municipality, regional county municipality in Québec, Canada
Pays-d'Enhaut may refer to:
* Riviera-Pays-d'Enhaut District, d ...