In
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
, a subprefecture (french: sous-préfecture) is the
commune
A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to:
Administrative-territorial entities
* Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township
** Communes of ...
which is the administrative centre of a
departmental arrondissement that does not contain the
prefecture for its
department. The term also applies to the building that houses the administrative headquarters for an arrondissement.
"Sous-préfectures : l'État à proximité"
Senate (in French).
The civil servant in charge of a subprefecture is the subprefect, assisted by a general secretary. Between May 1982 and February 1988, subprefects were known instead by the title Deputy Commissionner of the Republic (''commissaire adjoint de la République''). Where the administration of an arrondissement is carried out from a prefecture, the general secretary to the prefect carries out duties equivalent to those of the subprefect.
The municipal arrondissements of Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
, Lyon
Lyon,, ; Occitan language, Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, third-largest city and Urban area (France), second-largest metropolitan area of F ...
and Marseille
Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Fra ...
are divisions of the commune
A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to:
Administrative-territorial entities
* Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township
** Communes of ...
rather than the prefecture. They are not arrondissements in the same sense.
See also
*Prefectures in France
In France, a prefecture (french: préfecture) may be:
* the ''chef-lieu de département'', the commune in which the administration of a department is located;
* the ''chef-lieu de région'', the commune in which the administration of a region is ...
*List of subprefectures of France
The subprefectures of France are the '' chefs-lieux'' of arrondissements other than those administered by a prefecture. There are 233 subprefectures out of a total of 332 arrondissements.
The list below shows the sub-prefectures by department. ...
* List of arrondissements of France
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Subprefectures In France
Sous-prefecture
fr:Sous-préfecture
oc:Sosprefectura
sv:Sous-préfecture