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A territorial collectivity (, previously '), or territorial authority, in many francophone countries, is a
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 ...
governed by
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 ...
that exercises within its territory certain powers devolved to it by the State as part of a
decentralization Decentralization or decentralisation is the process by which the activities of an organization, particularly those related to planning and decision-making, are distributed or delegated away from a central, authoritative location or group and gi ...
process. In France, it also refers to a chartered
administrative division Administrative divisions (also administrative units, administrative regions, subnational entities, or constituent states, as well as many similar generic terms) are geographical areas into which a particular independent sovereign state is divi ...
of
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
with recognized governing authority. It is the generic name for any territory with an elective form of
local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of a higher-level political or administrative unit, such a ...
and local regulatory authority. The nature of a French territorial collectivity is set forth in Article 72 of the
Constitution of France The current Constitution of France was adopted on 4 October 1958. It is typically called the Constitution of the Fifth Republic , and it replaced the Constitution of the Fourth Republic of 1946 with the exception of the preamble per a 1971 d ...
(1958), which provides for local autonomy within limits prescribed by law.


Overview


Use of the term

The term ''collectivité territoriale'' is used in
Burkina Faso Burkina Faso is a landlocked country in West Africa, bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Ivory Coast to the southwest. It covers an area of 274,223 km2 (105,87 ...
, in France by its legislation and the Constitution, in
Mali Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is the List of African countries by area, eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of over . The country is bordered to the north by Algeria, to the east b ...
and in
Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...
. In
Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...
and
Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...
, they refer to it as ''collectivité locale''. However, in France, it is also used by the State administration: the '' Direction Générale des Collectivités Locales'' deals with matters relating to local authorities. In English-speaking countries, the term used is ''local government'' or ''local government area'', and in German is ''Gebietskörperschaft''.


Characteristics

Territorial authorities have
legal status Legal status describes the legal rights, duties and obligations of a person or Legal person, entity, or a subset of those rights and obligations. (defining "status") The term may be used to describe a person's legal condition with respect to perso ...
. They are often administered by a
deliberative assembly A deliberative assembly is a meeting of members who use parliamentary procedure. Etymology In a speech to the electorate at Bristol in 1774, Edmund Burke Edmund Burke (; 12 January ew Style, NS1729 – 9 July 1797) was an Anglo-Irish Po ...
, which may be elected by direct
universal suffrage Universal suffrage or universal franchise ensures the right to vote for as many people bound by a government's laws as possible, as supported by the " one person, one vote" principle. For many, the term universal suffrage assumes the exclusion ...
. Depending on local legislation, they may levy local taxes and receive funds from the State.


Categories

*
Regions In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...
: France has 18 regions, or 14 not including single territorial collectivities (collectivities with special status). *
Departments Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military * Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...
: France has 94 departments as territorial collectivities (most recently the merger of the territorial collectivities of
Bas-Rhin Bas-Rhin () is a department in Alsace which is a part of the Grand Est region of France. The name means 'Lower Rhine', referring to its lower altitude among the two French Rhine departments: it is downstream of the Haut-Rhin (Upper Rhine) de ...
and
Haut-Rhin Haut-Rhin (); Alsatian: ''Owerelsàss'' or '; , . is a department in the Grand Est region, France, bordering both Germany and Switzerland. It is named after the river Rhine; its name means Upper Rhine. Haut-Rhin is the smaller and less pop ...
to form the
European Collectivity of Alsace The European Collectivity of Alsace () is a territorial collectivity in the Alsace region of France. On 1 January 2021, the departments of Bas-Rhin and Haut-Rhin merged to form a territorial collectivity, but remained part of the Grand Est region ...
). However, the word is also used for the 101 territorial divisions of the State administration, which in most cases cover the same area as territorial collectivities. * Collectivities with special status: this status is awarded by specific laws to 6 collectivities which replace departments and regions (
Corsica Corsica ( , , ; ; ) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the Regions of France, 18 regions of France. It is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of the Metro ...
,
French Guiana French Guiana, or Guyane in French, is an Overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France located on the northern coast of South America in the Guianas and the West Indies. Bordered by Suriname to the west ...
, Greater Lyon,
Martinique Martinique ( ; or ; Kalinago language, Kalinago: or ) is an island in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the eastern Caribbean Sea. It was previously known as Iguanacaera which translates to iguana island in Carib language, Kariʼn ...
,
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 ...
, and
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 ...
). *
Overseas collectivities The France, French overseas collectivities ( abbreviated as COM) are first-order administrative divisions of France, like the regions of France, French regions, but have a semi-autonomous status. The COMs include some former French Overseas ter ...
(', COM): France has five COMs. *
Provinces A province is an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outside Italy. The term ''provi ...
: There are 3 provinces, all in
New Caledonia New Caledonia ( ; ) is a group of islands in the southwest Pacific Ocean, southwest of Vanuatu and east of Australia. Located from Metropolitan France, it forms a Overseas France#Sui generis collectivity, ''sui generis'' collectivity of t ...
. * Communes: There are 36,782 communes. They are found throughout the republic (except for
Saint Barthélemy Saint Barthélemy, officially the Collectivité territoriale de Saint-Barthélemy, also known as St. Barts (English) or St. Barth (French), is an overseas collectivity of France in the Caribbean. The island lies about southeast of the island ...
, Saint Martin,
Wallis and Futuna Wallis and Futuna, officially the Territory of the Wallis and Futuna Islands (), is a French island territorial collectivity, collectivity in the Oceania, South Pacific, situated between Tuvalu to the northwest, Fiji to the southwest, Tonga t ...
, which are subdivided differently, as well as uninhabited
Clipperton Island Clipperton Island ( ; ), also known as Clipperton Atoll and previously as Clipperton's Rock, is an uninhabited French coral atoll in the eastern Pacific Ocean. The only French territory in the North Pacific, Clipperton is from Paris, France ...
, which is directly administered by the office of the
Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
and the Minister of Overseas France).


Administration

*The assembly of a ''région'' and of a ROM is the regional council (''
conseil régional A regional council () is the elected assembly of a region of France. History Regional councils were created by law on 5 July 1972. Originally they were simply consultative bodies consisting of the region's parliamentary representatives plus an ...
''). They are presided over by a president of the regional council (''président du conseil régional''). ** Corsica's assembly is called the ''assemblée de Corse'' ( Corsican Assembly) that exercises some
Corsican autonomy Corsican autonomy is the idea and movement supporting the status of an autonomous region for the island of Corsica within the France, French Republic. Most supporters of greater autonomy are Corsican nationalism, Corsican nationalists. The ruling ...
. It is also presided over by the president of the regional council. *The assembly of a ''département'' (except Paris) or that of a DOM is called a ''conseil départemental''. It is presided over by a ''président du conseil départemental''. *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 mayor (''maire''). ** The Paris assembly is called the '' conseil de Paris''. It is also presided over by a
mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...
. *The
Assembly of French Polynesia The Assembly of French Polynesia (, ; Tahitian: ''Te apoʻoraʻa rahi o te fenua Māʻohi'') is the unicameral legislature of French Polynesia, an overseas country of the French Republic. It is located at Place Tarahoi in Papeete, Tahiti. It wa ...
is presided over by the ''président de la Polynésie française''. *Saint Barthélemy, Saint Martin, and Saint Pierre and Miquelon's assemblies are called ''conseil territorial''. Each of these is 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 (''
préfet A prefect (, plural , both ) in France is the State's representative in a department or region. Regional prefects are ''ex officio'' the departmental prefects of the regional prefecture. Prefects are tasked with upholding the law in the departme ...
''). *New Caledonia's assembly is called a ''congrès''. It is presided over by the ''président du gouvernement''.


Past and future territorial collectivities

*The category of
overseas territory A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, belonging or connected to a particular country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually a geographic area which has not been granted the powers of self-government, ...
(''territoires d'outre-mer'') was eliminated under the constitutional reform of 28 March 2003.
French Southern Territories The French Southern and Antarctic Lands (, TAAF) is an overseas territory ( or ) of France. It consists of: * Adélie Land (), the French claim on the continent of Antarctica. * Crozet Islands (), a group in the southern Indian Ocean, south o ...
is still a ''TOM'', but this is now a particular designation, not a category. This uninhabited territory no longer is a ''collectivité territoriale''. *
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 ...
and
Saint Pierre and Miquelon Saint Pierre and Miquelon ( ), officially the Territorial Collectivity of Saint Pierre and Miquelon (), is a self-governing territorial overseas collectivity of France in the northwestern Atlantic Ocean, located near the Canada, Canadian prov ...
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 it became a ''ROM'' in 2011. *Guadeloupians and Réunionnais have refused to eliminate their ''ROM'' and ''DOM'' in order to create a unique ''collectivité territoriale''. *The
European Collectivity of Alsace The European Collectivity of Alsace () is a territorial collectivity in the Alsace region of France. On 1 January 2021, the departments of Bas-Rhin and Haut-Rhin merged to form a territorial collectivity, but remained part of the Grand Est region ...
became effective on the first day of 2021.


Territorial authorities and European institutions

The
Congress of Local and Regional Authorities The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities is the pan-European political assembly representing local and regional authorities from the forty-six member states of the Council of Europe. Its role is to promote local and regional democracy, imp ...
of the
Council of Europe The Council of Europe (CoE; , CdE) is an international organisation with the goal of upholding human rights, democracy and the Law in Europe, rule of law in Europe. Founded in 1949, it is Europe's oldest intergovernmental organisation, represe ...
is a pan-European political assembly made up of 648 regional and municipal councillors, mayors and regional presidents, elected for four-year terms. It represents 200,000 territorial authorities in 47 European countries, including France's 36,000 communes. As the voice of territorial authorities, towns and regions, the Congress is responsible for strengthening local and regional democracy in its 47 member states by promoting consultation and political dialogue between governments and territorial authorities. To this end, it cooperates with the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe. The work of the Congress is structured around its two chambers, the Chamber of Local Authorities and the Chamber of Regions, and is organized around three statutory committees: a Monitoring Committee, a Governance Committee and a Current Affairs Committee.


Sustainable development applied to territorial authorities

In June 1992, at the
Earth Summit The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), also known as the Rio de Janeiro Conference or the Earth Summit (Portuguese: ECO92, Cúpula da Terra), was a major United Nations conference held in Rio de Janeiro from 3 ...
in
Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...
, a plan of action for the 21st century called
Agenda 21 Agenda 21 is a non-binding action plan of the United Nations with regard to sustainable development. It is a product of the Earth Summit (UN Conference on Environment and Development) held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1992. It is an action ag ...
was adopted, applying to territorial authorities, regions, départements, communities of communes or municipalities. The action plan was divided into 40 chapters, with a preamble and four sections. It includes recommendations in areas as varied as poverty, health, housing, pollution, the management of seas, forests and mountains, desertification, the management of water resources and sanitation, agricultural management and waste management. Most French regions have an Agenda 21. Taking all territorial authorities together, there were 1128 local agendas listed in France in 2017.


Other facts

*
New Caledonia New Caledonia ( ; ) is a group of islands in the southwest Pacific Ocean, southwest of Vanuatu and east of Australia. Located from Metropolitan France, it forms a Overseas France#Sui generis collectivity, ''sui generis'' collectivity of t ...
is the only French local government that is not a ''collectivité territoriale''. It has its own articles in the French Constitution. Since it cannot be categorized, it is sometimes unofficially called a ''collectivité
sui generis ( , ) is a Latin phrase that means "of its/their own kind" or "in a class by itself", therefore "unique". It denotes an exclusion to the larger system an object is in relation to. Several disciplines use the term to refer to unique entities. ...
'' (although "collectivity" is not, strictly speaking, a legal category). It is also unofficially called a '' pays (d'outre-mer)'', because its local legislative assembly (the
congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...
) can rule using its own ''lois du pays''. New Caledonia voted in
1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...
,
2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...
,
2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...
and
2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...
to reject independence and maintain its current status of large autonomy gained from the national constitutional referendum of 1988. *
Corsica Corsica ( , , ; ; ) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the Regions of France, 18 regions of France. It is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of the Metro ...
became the first ''collectivité territoriale unique'' that is within
metropolitan France Metropolitan France ( or ), also known as European France (), is the area of France which is geographically in Europe and chiefly comprises #Hexagon, the mainland, popularly known as "the Hexagon" ( or ), and Corsica. This collective name for the ...
starting on 1 January 2018, with new territorial elections held as a result. *The ''régions'' are divided into ''départements'': ''ROMs'' are divided into ''DOMs''; New Caledonia is divided into ''provinces''; ''départements'', ''COMs'' (except Saint Barthélemy, Saint-Martin, and Wallis and Futuna), ''DOMs'', and ''provinces'' all are divided into ''communes''. *The ''commune'' of Poya is the only French subdivision assigned to two upper-level units (the ''provinces'' of
North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...
and
South South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both west and east. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...
). *
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 some overseas entities belong to two categories. ** Paris is both a ''département'' and a ''commune''. It has one mayor and one assembly. **
French Guiana French Guiana, or Guyane in French, is an Overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France located on the northern coast of South America in the Guianas and the West Indies. Bordered by Suriname to the west ...
,
Guadeloupe Guadeloupe is an Overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France in the Caribbean. It consists of six inhabited islands—Basse-Terre Island, Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre, Guadeloupe, Grande-Terre, Marie-Galant ...
,
Martinique Martinique ( ; or ; Kalinago language, Kalinago: or ) is an island in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the eastern Caribbean Sea. It was previously known as Iguanacaera which translates to iguana island in Carib language, Kariʼn ...
,
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 ...
, and
Réunion Réunion (; ; ; known as before 1848) is an island in the Indian Ocean that is an overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France. Part of the Mascarene Islands, it is located approximately east of the isl ...
are both ''ROM'' and ''DOM''. Guadeloupe and Réunion each have two presidents and two assemblies, while French Guiana, Martinique and Mayotte each have a single assembly. *Each ''COM'' has its own
statutory law A statute is a law or formal written enactment of a legislature. Statutes typically declare, command or prohibit something. Statutes are distinguished from court law and unwritten law (also known as common law) in that they are the expressed wi ...
that gives it a particular designation: **
French Polynesia French Polynesia ( ; ; ) is an overseas collectivity of France and its sole #Governance, overseas country. It comprises 121 geographically dispersed islands and atolls stretching over more than in the Pacific Ocean, South Pacific Ocean. The t ...
is designated as a ''pays d'outre-mer'', **
Saint Barthélemy Saint Barthélemy, officially the Collectivité territoriale de Saint-Barthélemy, also known as St. Barts (English) or St. Barth (French), is an overseas collectivity of France in the Caribbean. The island lies about southeast of the island ...
and Saint Martin as ''collectivités'', **
Saint Pierre and Miquelon Saint Pierre and Miquelon ( ), officially the Territorial Collectivity of Saint Pierre and Miquelon (), is a self-governing territorial overseas collectivity of France in the northwestern Atlantic Ocean, located near the Canada, Canadian prov ...
as a ''collectivité territoriale'', and **
Wallis and Futuna Wallis and Futuna, officially the Territory of the Wallis and Futuna Islands (), is a French island territorial collectivity, collectivity in the Oceania, South Pacific, situated between Tuvalu to the northwest, Fiji to the southwest, Tonga t ...
as a ''territoire''.


See also

*
Administrative divisions of France The administrative divisions of France are concerned with the institutional and territorial organization of French territory. These territories are located in many parts of the world. There are many administrative divisions, which may have ...
*
Local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of a higher-level political or administrative unit, such a ...
*
Territory A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, belonging or connected to a particular country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually a geographic area which has not been granted the powers of self-government, ...
*
Spatial planning Spatial planning mediates between the respective claims on space of the state, market, and community. In so doing, three different mechanisms of involving stakeholders, integrating sectoral policies and promoting development projects mark the th ...
*
Governance Governance is the overall complex system or framework of Process, processes, functions, structures, Social norm, rules, Law, laws and Norms (sociology), norms born out of the Interpersonal relationship, relationships, Social interaction, intera ...
,
Self-governance Self-governance, self-government, self-sovereignty or self-rule is the ability of a person or group to exercise all necessary functions of regulation without intervention from an external authority (sociology), authority. It may refer to pers ...
*
Community A community is a social unit (a group of people) with a shared socially-significant characteristic, such as place, set of norms, culture, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given g ...
*
Civil service The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil service personnel hired rather than elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leadership. A civil service offic ...
* :fr:Compétences des collectivités territoriales en matière d'environnement


References

{{reflist Overseas France Government of France Local government in Germany Local government in Algeria Local government in Senegal Government of Burkina Faso Government of Mali