
People tend to forget this, but France is big. Really big. By land area it is the largest country in Western Europe and of The European Union, and the third-largest in Europe overall (after Russia and Ukraine); it's also about the same size as Texas, which of course prides itself on its size. As a result, despite the centralization of power in Paris, the government needs to divide the country up somehow in order to govern effectively.
Départements (often rendered in English as "departments") are the primary administrative divisions of France. As you can imagine given that bit about France being big, there's rather a lot of them. Nowadays they are grouped for administrative efficiency into eighteen régions—thirteen within "Metropolitan France" (i.e., in continental Europe, including Corsica), and the remaining five elsewhere, but this is a fairly recent creation. Several regional projects aborted, the first one in 1919, the second one during the Vichy regime, and the third one rejected by referendum in 1969 (which is what led to Charles de Gaulle's retirement from power). The current regions were created in 1972 by George Pompidou, but were only given significant power by 1983's decentralization law under François Mitterrand. In 2014, after a long, tedious, and at times very controversial political debate, the number of regions was brought down from 27 to 18, merging many regions. Reception to this reform was highly mixed, the reunification of Normandy being almost unanimously praised, while the merger of Alsace, Lorraine, and Champagne, as well as the problems surrounding Brittany being blatantly ignored, left a lot of people very unhappy.
Each département is allocated a numbernote , which appears on French postcodes and car registrations. Expect French people to sometimes proudly say they’re "from the [department number]" instead of using the name − it’s expecially common in rap, with the Seine Saint-Denis department (93) being commonly refered to as the "9-3" for example.
The départements are purely administrative, having been created during the French Revolution as a means to "rationalize" administration: originally, the idea was to divide along the lines of a rigid grid◊, and although that idea was quickly scrapped, boundaries are drawn with more consideration for compactness and equality of geographic size than anything else—nobody had to be "more than a day of horseriding" away from the main city of their department. Most of these departments are named after rivers, mountains or seas (or several at once like Pyrénées Atlantiques).
The régions, on the other hand, tend to vaguely follow the old provinces of the Ancien Régime, although not always (Centre-Val de Loire, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Pays de la Loire, Grand Est, and Midi-Pyrénées in particular are noted for their artificiality). The historic provinces tend to be very much a focus for attachment for the ordinary French, as do the towns, cities, and other municipalities that form the next level down below the département. The old provinces tend to have their own characteristic dialectsnote , cuisines, customs, and traditions—to say nothing of the cheese and the wine. Although the dialects largely have been worn away into mere regional accents by generations of concerted attempts to impose Standard French as well as immigration, the rest have remained—and that's why we talk about it.
Metropolitan France
Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (Auvergne-Rhone-Alps)
Area: 69,711 square kilometres (26,916 square miles) [3rd of 13]
Population (2022): 8,042,936 [2nd of 13]
Regional languages: Occitan (Vivaro-Alpine and Auvergnat variants), Arpitan
Alternate names: Auvèrnhe-Ròse-Aups (Occitan), Ôvèrgne-Rôno-Arpes (Arpitan)
The second most populated and third-largest region, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes is largely mountainous, with the Alps to the east, the Massif Central to the west, and the deep Rhône valley in between (hence the region's name). It covers many historic and cultural regions: Auvergne, Beaujolais, Bourbonnais, Forez, Savoy, parts of Languedoc, and most of Dauphiné. The regional capital, Lyon, has been a major city since the time of the Romans, is famed in France for its food and cuisine, and is a large business center. Depending on what criteria you use (and who you ask), Lyon is either the second- or third-largest city in France. Other major cities include Grenoble, Saint Etienne, and Clermont-Ferrand.
01 — Ain
- Capital (and largest city): Bourg-en-Bresse
Area: 5,762 square kilometres (2,225 square miles) [6th of 13 regionally; 56th of 97 overall]
Population (2022): 652,432 [6th of 13 regionally; 38th of 97 overall]


03 — Allier
- Capital: Moulins
Largest city: Montluçon
Area: 7,340 square kilometres (2,834 square miles) [3rd of 13 regionally; 13th of 97 overall]
Population (2022): 335,975 [9th of 13 regionally; 65th of 97 overall]
07 — Ardèche
- Capital (and largest city): Privas
Area: 5,529 square kilometres (2,135 square miles) [8th of 13 regionally; 63rd of 97 overall]
Population (2022): 328,278 [10th of 13 locally; 69th of 97 overall]
15 — Cantal
- Capital (and largest city): Aurillac
Area: 5,726 square kilometres (2,211 square miles) [7th of 13 regionally; 59th of 97 overall]
Population (2022): 144,692 [13th of 13 regionally; 93rd of 97 overall]
26 — Drôme
- Capital (and largest city): Valence
Area: 6,530 square kilometres (2,521 square miles) [4th of 13 regionally; 29th of 97 overall]
Population (2022): 516,762 [7th of 13 regionally; 51st of 97 overall]
38 — Isère
- Capital (and largest city): Grenoble
Area: 7,431 square kilometres (2,869 square miles) [2nd of 13 regionally; 10th of 97 overall]
Population (2022): 1,271,166 [2nd of 13 regionally; 15th of 97 overall]
42 — Loire
- Capital (and largest city): Saint-Étienne
Area: 4,781 square kilometres (1,846 square miles) [10th of 13 regionally; 77th of 97 overall]
Population (2022): 765,634 [4th of 13 regionally; 29th of 97 overall]
43 — Haute-Loire (Upper Loire)
- Capital (and largest city): Le Puy-en-Velay
Area: 4,977 square kilometres (1,922 square miles) [9th of 13 regionally; 75th of 97 overall]
Population (2022): 227,570 [12th of 13 regionally; 82nd of 97 overall]

63 — Puy-de-Dôme
- Capital (and largest city): Clermont-Ferrand
Area: 7,970 square kilometres (3,077 square miles) [1st of 13 regionally; 8th of 97 overall]
Population (2022): 662,152 [5th of 13 regionally; 37th of 97 overall]
69D — Rhône
- Capital: Lyon
Largest city: Villefranche-sur-Saône
Area: 2,715 square kilometres (1,048 square miles) [12th of 13 regionally; 88th of 97 overall]
Population (2022): 253,618 [11th of 13 regionally; 78th of 97 overall]
69M — Métropole de Lyon (Lyon Metropolis)
- Capital (and largest city): Lyon
Area: 534 square kilometres (206 square miles) [13th of 13 regionally; 93rd of 97 overall]
Population (2022): 1,622,129 [1st of 13 regionally; 7th of 97 overall]
73 — Savoie (Savoy)
- Capital (and largest city): Chambéry
Area: 6,028 square kilometres (2,327 square miles) [5th of 13 regionally; 44th of 97 overall]
Population (2022): 436,434 [8th of 13 regionally; 55th of 97 overall]
74 — Haute-Savoie (Upper Savoy)
- Capital (and largest city): Annecy
Area: 4,388 square kilometres (1,694 square miles) [11th of 13 regionally; 81st of 97 overall]
Population (2022): 826,094 [3rd of 13 regionally; 26th of 97 overall]
Bourgogne-Franche-Comté (Burgundy-Free County)
Area: 47,784 square kilometres (18,450 square miles) [5th of 13]
Population (2022): 2,805,580 [11th of 13]
Regional language: Bourguignon-Morvandiau
Alternate name: Borgogne-Franche-Comtât (Arpitan)
As its name suggests, this region is made out of two entities, Bourgogne (Burgundy) and Franche-Comté (Free County), who have a long history of being united and separated. Both relics of the post-Roman Kingdom of Burgundy, which was much larger, the former became known as the "Duchy of Burgundy," and the latter the "County of Burgundy," which eventually became "Free County." The region is perhaps most famous for The Hundred Years War, where the dukes of Burgundy (who also ruled over the county, and... the Netherlands, of all places) played both sides, temporarily becoming one of the most powerful states in Western Europe. Since 2016, both Burgundies have been reunited, but they both retain a strong individual identity. Today, the region is the least densely populated in Metropolitan France, its terrain being largely composed of the northernmost part of the Massif Central and the Jura mountains (the Jurassic period is named after them), the plains of the Saone and Seine rivers separating the two.
Naturally, Bourgogne proper is famous for its cuisine, to which we owe a lot (including les escargots de Bourgogne, the famous snails; boeuf bourguignon, or the best damn beef stew in Western Europe; and, of course, Burgundy wine). Comté cheese, one of the most popular in France, is originally from historic Franche-Comté; vin jaune, a famous deep-yellow white wine, is native to Jura (and commonly drunk with Comté cheese).
21 — Côte-d'Or (Golden Slope)
- Capital (and largest city): Dijon
Area: 8,763 square kilometres (3,383 square miles) [1st of 8 regionally; 4th of 97 overall]
Population (2022): 534,124 [3rd of 8 regionally; 49th of 97 overall]

25 — Doubs
- Capital (and largest city): Besançon
Area: 5,234 square kilometres (2,021 square miles) [6th of 8 regionally; 68th of 97 overall]
Population (2022): 543,974 [2nd of 8 regionally; 48th of 97 overall]
39 — Jura
- Capital: Lons-le-Saunier
Largest city: Dole
Area: 4,999 square kilometres (1,930 square miles) [7th of 8 regionally; 74th of 97 overall]
Population (2022): 259,199 [5th of 8 regionally; 77th of 97 overall]
58 — Nièvre
- Capital (and largest city): Nevers
Area: 6,817 square kilometres (2,632 square miles) [4th of 8 regionally; 21st of 97 overall]
Population (2022): 204,452 [7th of 8 regionally; 84th of 97 overall]

70 — Haute-Saône (Upper Saône)
- Capital (and largest city): Vesoul
Area: 5,360 square kilometres (2,070 square miles) [5th of 8 regionally; 66th of 97 overall]
Population (2022): 235,313 [6th of 8 regionally; 80th of 97 overall]
71 — Saône-et-Loire (Saône and Loire)
- Capital (and largest city): Mâcon
Area: 8,575 square kilometres (3,311 square miles) [2nd of 8 regionally; 6th of 97 overall]
Population (2022): 551,493 [1st of 8 regionally; 47th of 97 overall]
89 — Yonne
- Capital (and largest city): Auxerre
Area: 7,427 square kilometres (2,868 square miles) [3rd of 8 regionally; 11th of 97 overall]
Population (2022): 335,707 [4th of 8 regionally; 66th of 97 overall]
90 — Territoire de Belfort (Territory of Belfort)
- Capital (and largest city): Belfort
Area: 609 square kilometres (235 square miles) [8th of 8 regionally; 92nd of 97 overall]
Population (2022): 141,318 [8th of 8 regionally; 94th of 97 overall]
Bretagne (Brittany)
Area: 27,208 square kilometres (10,505 square miles) [11th of 13]
Population (2022): 3,354,854 [9th of 13]
Regional languages: Breton, Gallo
Alternate names: Breizh (Breton), Bertaèyn (Gallo)
Modern-day Brittany is actually only roughly 80% of the historical region, with the rest now belonging to Pays de Loire just because. Pretty Celtic in culture (it's part of the six Celtic nations with Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Cornwall, and the Isle of Man), this is the last Celtic country in Continental Europe, established by Cornish/Welsh refugees from Britainnote looking for somewhere like home. The local language, Breton, historically spoken in the western part of the region, is being revived as part of France's gradual relaxation of its restrictions on dissemination of local cultures. It is very closely related to Cornish and slightly more distantly related to Welsh. A romance language called Gallo is also still in use in the eastern part of the region, though it has much fewer speakers.
Famous for its crêpes (Krampouezh), buckwheat galettes (Kaletez) and its cider (Sistr). In France, it also holds a reputation for being perpetually rainy. Or in other words, it's the Wales of France. Go figure.
22 — Côtes-d'Armor (Coasts of Armorica)
- Capital (and largest city): Saint-Brieuc
Area: 6,878 square kilometres (2,656 square miles) [1st of 4 regionally; 18th of 97 overall]
Population (2022): 600,582 [4th of 4 regionally; 41st of 97 overall]
29 — Finistère (Ends of the Earth)
- Capital: Quimper
Largest city: Brest
Area: 6,733 square kilometres (2,600 square miles) [4th of 4 regionally; 26th of 97 overall]
Population (2022): 915,090 [2nd of 4 regionally; 24th of 97 overall]
35 — Ille-et-Vilaine (Ille and Vilaine)
- Capital and (largest city): Rennes
Area: 6,775 square kilometres (2,616 square miles) [3rd of 4 regionally; 24th of 97 overall]
Population (2022): 1,079,498 [1st of 4 regionally; 21st of 97 overall]
56 — Morbihan
- Capital: Vannes
Largest city: Lorient
Area: 6,823 square kilometres (2,634 square miles) [2nd of 4 regionally; 20th of 97 overall]
Population (2022): 759,684 [3rd of 4 regionally; 30th of 97 overall]

Centre-Val de Loire (Centre-Loire Valley)
Largest city: Tours
Area: 39,151 square kilometres (15,116 square miles) [6th of 13]
Population (2012): 2,573,180 [12th of 13]
Simply known as "Centre" until 2014, it is located in the centre of France (well, more in the northwest-ish). It is known for two things: the Loire Valley and its famous châteaux, and the fact that it is the only region with no individual cultural identity whatsoever. In fact, it's constituted of various smaller historical provinces (Berry, Touraine, and Orléans), and some of them were even in conflict. It is often said that Centre was made with the leftovers when all the other regions where created. After a long campaign, it was renamed "Centre-Val de Loire" in January 2015.
18 — Cher
- Capital (and largest city): Bourges
Area: 7,235 square kilometres (2,793 square miles) [1st of 6 regionally; 14th of 97 overall]
Population (2022): 302,306 [5th of 6 regionally; 72nd of 97 overall]
28 — Eure-et-Loir (Eure and Loir)
- Capital (and largest city): Chartres
Area: 5,880 square kilometres (2,270 square miles) [6th of 6 regionally; 51st of 97 overall]
Population (2022): 431,575 [3rd of 6 regionally; 56th of 97 overall]

36 — Indre
- Capital (and largest city): Châteauroux
Area: 6,791 square kilometres (2,622 square miles) [2nd of 6 regionally; 23rd of 97 overall]
Population (2022): 219,316 [6th of 6 regionally; 83rd of 97 overall]
37 — Indre-et-Loire (Indre and Loire)
- Capital (and largest city): Tours
Area: 6,127 square kilometres (2,366 square miles)
Population (2022): 610,079 [2nd of 6 regionally; 40th of 97 overall]
41 — Loir-et-Cher (Loir and Cher)
- Capital (and largest city): Blois
Area: 6,343 square kilometres (2,449 square miles) [4th of 6 regionally; 30th of 97 overall]
Population (2022): 329,470 [4th of 6 regionally; 68th of 97 overall]
45 — Loiret
- Capital (and largest city): Orléans
Area: 6,775 square kilometres (2,616 square miles) [3rd of 6 regionally; 25th of 97 overall]
Population (2022): 680,434 [1st of 6 regionally; 36th of 97 overall]
Corse (Corsica)
Area: 8,680 square kilometres (3,350 square miles) [13th of 13]
Population (2022): 340,440 [13th of 13]
Regional languages: Corsican
Nicknamed Île de Beauté (Isle of Beauty), the island of Corsica is located in the Mediterranean, right to the north of the Italian island of Sardinia.note Occupied for a long time by various countries, it was briefly independent in 1735, until 1769 where it was definitely conquered by France.
Even today, Corsicans are a pretty independent bunch. A 2003 referendum on greater autonomy was voted down by a very thin majority: 50.98% against to 49.02% in favor. Ironically, the island also contributed to the history of France by being the birthplace of Napoléon Bonaparte himself.
Common jokes involve Corsicans being lazy, insanely protective of their women, and highly irritable and violent (which combined with the long-running low-level separatist bombing campaign led to Corsica being jokingly called Île de Boum: the island of "BOOM"!). There are sometimes jokes about their kind of cheese, which even the cheese-loving French are horrified at. Corsican girls also hold a reputation for being extremely beautiful, but since it brought us women such as Laetitia Casta or Alizée, this might not be just a stereotype.
Corsica used to have the number "20". This changed when it was separated in two départements.
2A — Corse-du-Sud (Southern Corsica)
Area: 4,014 square kilometres (1,550 square miles) [2nd of 2 regionally; 84th of 97 overall]
Population (2022): 158,507 [2nd of 2 regionally; 91st of 97 overall]
2B — Haute-Corse (Upper Corsica)
Area: 4,666 square kilometres (1,802 square miles) [1st of 2 regionally; 79th of 97 overall]
Population (2022): 181,933 [1st of 2 regionally; 87th of 97 overall]
Grand Est (Greater East)
Area: 57,433 square kilometres (22,175 square miles) [4th of 13]
Population (2022): 5,556,219 [6th of 13]
Regional languages: Alsatian, Lorrain, Champenois
Alternate name: Großer Osten (German)
Merged from three major regions—Alsace, Lorraine, and Champagne-Ardenne. For centuries Alsace and Lorraine, known in German as, respectively, "Elsass" and "Lothringen" (though the latter applied only to one-fourth of the area, covering what is now Moselle), constantly changed hands between France and Germany (France since the Thirty Years' War; Imperial Germany in 1871 after the Franco-Prussian War; France in 1919 after World War I; Nazi Germany in 1940, at the start of World War II; and back to France in 1945 at the end of the latter war), as well as being unusual for being the home of many Frenchmen with Swiss German heritage. In contrast, the latter region is a patchwork of the historic province of Champagne (obviously famous for its wine-making industry) and the Ardennes forest.
The merger is contested to this day, especially by Alsatiansnote , citing no significant reasons (except between Moselle and the two Alsatian departments) to justify screwing centuries of pretty clear historical/cultural delimitations, as well as denouncing a ploy by the socialist government of then-president François Hollande to drown Alsace's consistently strong right-wing votes, and revived regionalism there as a result note .
08 — Ardennes
- Capital (and largest city): Charleville-Mézières
Area: 5,229 square kilometres (2,019 square miles) [8th of 10 regionally; 69th of 97 overall]
Population (2022): 270,582 [8th of 10 regionally; 75th of 97 overall]

10 — Aube
- Capital (and largest city): Troyes
Area: 6,004 square kilometres (2,318 square miles) [5th of 10 regionally; 45th of 97 overall]
Population (2022): 310,242 [7th of 10 regionally; 70th of 97 overall]


51 — Marne
- Capital: Châlons-en-Champagne
Largest city: Reims
Area: 8,162 square kilometres (3,151 square miles) [1st of 10 regionally; 7th of 97 overall]
Population (2022): 566,855 [5th of 10 regionally; 44th of 97 overall]
52 — Haute-Marne (Upper Marne)
- Capital: Chaumont
Largest city: Saint-Dizier
Area: 6,211 square kilometres (2,398 square miles) [joint 3rd of 10 regionally; joint 35th of 97 overall]
Population (2022): 172,512 [10th of 10 regionally; 89th of 97 overall]
54 — Meurthe-et-Moselle (Meurthe and Moselle)
- Capital (and largest city): Nancy
Area: 5,246 square kilometres (2,025 square miles) [7th of 10 regionally; 67th of 97 iverall]
Population (2022): 733,760 [4th of 10 regionally; 32nd of 97 overall]
55 — Meuse
- Capital: Bar-le-Duc
Largest city: Verdun
Area: 6,211 square kilometres (2,398 square miles) [joint 3rd of 10 regionally; joint 35th of 97 overall]
Population (2022): 184,083 [9th of 10 regionally; 86th of 97 overall]
57 — Moselle
- Capital (and largest city): Metz
Area: 6,216 square kilometres (2,400 square miles) [2nd of 10 regionally; 34th of 97 overall]
Population (2022): 1,046,543 [2nd of 10 regionally; 23rd of 97 overall]
88 — Vosges
- Capital (and largest city): Épinal
Area: 5,874 square kilometres (2,268 square miles) [6th of 10 regionally; 52nd of 97 overall]
Population (2022): 364,499 [6th of 10 regionally; 63rd of 97 overall]
European Collectivity of Alsace
The constant and significant backlash against the Grand Est in the two departements (Bas-Rhin and Haut-Rhin) that once formed the Region of Alsace prompted the government of Emmanuel Macron to patch up yet another administrative layer to try calming things down, the "European Collectivity of Alsace", in 2021. It is the merging of the two departments in practice, with a limited set of competences and with aims that would include better economic cooperation with the neighboring German and Swiss economic areas, while still not taking Alsace out of the Grand Est. There is still sustained local political activity to take Alsace out of the Grand Est.
67 — Bas-Rhin (Lower Rhine)
- Capital (and largest city): Strasbourg
Area: 4,755 square kilometres (1,836 square miles) [9th of 10 regionally; 78th of 97 overall]
Population (2022): 1,140,057 [1st of 10 regionally; 19th of 97 overall]
68 — Haut-Rhin (Upper Rhine)
- Capital: Colmar
Largest city: Mulhouse
Area: 3,525 square kilometres (1,361 square miles) [10th of 10 regionally; 87th of 97 overall]
Population (2022): 767,086 [3rd of 10 regionally; 28th of 97 overall]
Hauts-de-France (Upper France)
Area: 31,813 square kilometres (12,283 square miles) [8th of 13]
Population (2022): 6,004,947 [4th of 13]
Regional languages: Picard, Western Flemish
Created from the merger of Nord-Pas-de-Calais and Picardie, themselves made out of many different provinces, coming up with a name for this region was a... complicated issue, to say the least. The final result, Hauts-de-France ("Upper France"), had a mixed receptionnote . Nord is the historical western half of Flanders, while Pas-de-Calais, as its name implies, contains the port of Calais. This area played key roles in both World Wars. Picardie has a long history and strong cultural identity, but modern Picardie is much larger than the old province, and its southern parts have more in common with Île-de-France and Champagne. In France, it used to hold a very bad reputation for being extremely poor, polluted and backward. The extremely successful movie Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis did a lot to change that vision of things. Nord-Pas-de-Calais retains a strong working class identity, with people whose origins come from all over Europe. Think of northern industrial England, only French. The best French beers come from there; Nord in particular shares in the Flemish brewing tradition with Belgium.
02 — Aisne
- Capital: Laon
Largest city: St. Quentin
Area: 7,369 square kilometres (2,845 square miles) [1st of 5 regionally; 12th of 97 overall]
Population (2022): 531,345 [5th of 5 regionally; 50th of 97 overall]
59 — Nord (The North)
- Capital (and largest city): Lille
Area: 5,743 square kilometers (2,217 square miles) [5th of 5 regionally; 58th of 97 overall]
Population (2022): 2,608,346 [1st of 5 regionally; 1st of 97 overall]
60 — Oise
- Capital (and largest city): Beauvais
Area: 5,860 square kilometres (2,263 square miles) [4th of 5 regionally; 53rd of 97 overall]
Population (2022): 829,419 [3rd of 5 regionally; 25th of 97 overall]
62 — Pas-de-Calais (Strait of Calais)
- Capital: Arras
Largest city: Calais
Area: 6,671 square kilometres (2,576 square miles) [2nd of 5 regionally; 28th of 97 overall]
Population (2022): 1,465,278 [2nd of 5 regionally; 8th of 97 overall]
80 — Somme
- Capital (and largest city): Amiens
Area: 6,170 square kilometres (2,382 square miles) [3rd of 5 regionally; 38th of 97 overall]
Population (2022): 570,559 [4th of 5 regionally; 43rd of 97 overall]
Île-de-France (Island of France)
Area: 12,011 square kilometres (4,637 square miles) [12th of 13]
Population (2022): 12,262,544 [1st of 13]
75 — Paris
- Area: 105 square kilometres (41 square miles) [8th of 8 regionally; 97th of 97 overall]
Population (2022): 2,165,423 [1st of 8 regionally; 2nd of 97 overall]
77 — Seine-et-Marne (Seine and Marne)
- Capital: Melun
Largest city: Meaux
Area: 5,915 square kilometres (2,284 square miles) [1st of 8 regionally; 50th of 97 overall]
Population (2022): 1,421,197 [5th of 8 regionally; 11th of 97 overall]
78 — Yvelines
- Capital (and largest city): Versailles
Area: 2,284 square kilometres (882 square miles) [2nd of 8 regionally; 89th of 97 overall]
Population (2022): 1,448,207 [4th of 8 regionally; 9th of 97 overall]

91 — Essonne
- Capital (and largest city): Évry
Area: 1,804 square kilometres (697 square miles) [3rd of 8 regionally; 90th of 97 overall]
Population (2022): 1,301,659 [7th of 8 regionally; 14th of 97 overall]
92 — Hauts-de-Seine (Upper Seine)
- Capital: Nanterre
Largest city: Boulogne-Billancourt
Area: 176 square kilometres (68 square miles) [7th of 8 regionally; 96th of 97 overall]
Population (2022): 1,624,357 [3rd of 8 regionally; 5th of 97 overall]

93 — Seine-Saint-Denis
- Capital: Bobigny
Largest city: Saint-Denis
Area: 236 square kilometres (91 square miles) [6th of 8 regionally; 95th of 97 overall]
Population (2022): 1,644,903 [2nd of 8 regionally; 4th of 97 overall]
94 — Val-de-Marne (Valley of the Marne [River])
- Capital (and largest city): Créteil
Area: 245 square kilometres (95 square miles) [5th of 8 regionally; 94th of 97 overall]
Population (2022): 1,407,124 [6th of 8 regionally; 12th of 97 overall]

95 — Val-d'Oise (Valley of the Oise [River])
- Capital: Pontoise
Largest city: Argenteuil
Area: 1,246 square kilometres (481 square miles) [4th of 8 regionally; 91st of 97 overall]
Population (2022): 1,249,674 [8th of 8 regionally; 17th of 97 overall]
Normandie (Normandy)
Largest city: Le Havre
Area: 29,907 square kilometres (11,547 square miles) [10th of 13]
Population (2022): 3,325,032 [10th of 13]
Regional languages: Norman
Alternate name: Normaundie (Norman)
In the tenth century, King Charles III of France granted territory to a group of Vikings (then known as "Normans") led by the jarl Rollo on the condition that they stopped raiding his lands. Thus, Normandy was born. At various points in history, the region has been divided into Haute ("Upper") and Basse ("Lower") Normandie, though since 2016, the two regions have been reunited. Normandy is famous for its food (cream! fruits! Camembert!), apple beverages (cider! Calvados!) and beautiful rural landscapes. Birthplace of a certain Norman conqueror. Also the site of the largest and most famous amphibious assault in human history.
14 — Calvados
- Capital (and largest city): Caen
Area: 5,548 square kilometres (2,142 square miles) [5th of 5 regionally; 62nd of 97 overall]
Population (2022): 694,905 [2nd of 5 regionally; 33rd of 97 overall]
27 — Eure
- Capital (and largest city): Évreux
Area: 6,040 square kilometres (2,332 square miles) [3rd of 5 regionally; 43rd of 97 overall]
Population (2022): 599,507 [3rd of 5 regionally; 42nd of 97 overall]

50 — Manche (The Sleeve [i.e., the English Channel])
- Capital : Saint-Lô
Largest city : Cherbourg
Area: 5,938 square kilometres (2,293 square miles) [4th of 5 regionally; 49th of 97 overall]
Population (2022): 495,045 [4th of 5 regionally; 52nd of 97 overall]
61 — Orne
- Capital (and largest city): Alençon
Area: 6,103 square kilometres (2,356 square miles) [2nd of 5 regionally; 41st of 97 overall]
Population (2022): 279,942 [5th of 5 regionally; 73rd of 97 overall]
76 — Seine-Maritime (Coastal Seine)
- Capital: Rouen
Largest city: Le Havre
Area: 6,278 square kilometres (2,424 square miles) [1st of 5 regionally; 32nd of 97 overall]
Population (2022): 1,255,633 [1st of 5 regionally; 16th of 97 overall]
Nouvelle-Aquitaine (New Aquitaine)
Area: 84,785 square kilometres (32,736 square miles) [1st of 13]
Population (2022): 6,010,289 [3rd of 13]
Regional languages: Occitan (Gascon, Languedocian, Limousin), Basque
Alternate names: Nòva Aquitània (Occitan), Akitania Berria (Basque)
The largest region in France by area (surpassing Austria), Nouvelle Aquitaine includes a large variety of subregions, cultures, and landscapes, but also has a strong historic cohesion, Aquitaine having existed as a group, kingdom, duchy, or region for over 2,000 years. The region's current name, meaning "New Aquitaine", was chosen to distinguish it from a previous, smaller region that existed between 1982 and 2016. "Grande Aquitaine," or just "Aquitaine," were popular favourites for the name, but were met with political resistance, "Grande Aquitaine" being accused of implying a sense of superiority (*cough* Grand-Est *cough*). Among the many historical sub-regions are Bearn (in the southeast), the Basque Country (in the southwest), Gascony (south of the Garonne), Guyenne (in the center, used in medieval times as an alternative name for the region), Limousin and La Marche (to the east), Poitou (in the north), and Saintonge (along the the river Charente). The region's landscape consists mainly of green, rolling plains, gradually rising from the Atlantic to the highlands of the Massif Central, but there are also the dramatic high peaks of the Pyrenees, in the far south. Despite being scarcely populated for it size, Nouvelle Aquitaine is one of the most dynamic regions economically, and one of the fastest growing demographically thanks to its growing transport network.
16 — Charente
- Capital (and largest city): Angoulême
Area: 5,956 square kilometres (2,300 square miles) [8th of 12 regionally; 48th of 97 overall]
Population (2022): 352,015 [9th of 12 regionally; 64th of 97 overall]
17 — Charente-Maritime (Coastal Charente)
- Capital (and largest city): La Rochelle
Area: 6,864 square kilometres (2,650 square miles) [6th of 12 regionally; 19th of 97 overall]
Population (2022): 651,358 [3rd of 12 regionally; 39th of 97 overall]
19 — Corrèze
- Capital: Tulle
Largest City: Brive-la-Gaillarde
Area: 5,857 square kilometres (2,261 square miles) [9th of 12 regionally; 54th of 97 overall]
Population (2022): 240,073 [11th of 12 regionally; 79th of 97 overall]
22 — Creuse
- Capital (and largest city): Guéret
Area: 5,565 square kilometres (2,149 square miles) [10th of 12 regionally; 60th of 97 overall]
Population (2022): 116,617 [12th of 12 regionally; 96th of 97 overall]
24 — Dordogne
- Capital (and largest city): Périgueux
Area: 9,060 square kilometres (3,498 square miles) [3rd of 12 regionally; 3rd of 97 overall]
Population (2022): 413,223 [6th of 12 regionally; 58th of 97 overall]
33 — Gironde
- Capital (and largest city): Bordeaux
Area: 10,725 square kilometres (4,141 square miles) [1st of 12 regionally; 1st of 97 overall]
Population (2022): 1,623,749 [1st of 12 regionally; 6th of 97 overall]
40 — Landes (The Heathlands)
- Capital (and largest city): Mont-de-Marsan
Area: 9,243 square kilometres (3,569 square miles) [2nd of 12 regionally; 2nd of 97 overall]
Population (2022): 413,690 [5th of 12 regionally; 57th of 97 overall]
47 — Lot-et-Garonne (Lot and Garonne)
- Capital (and largest city): Agen
Area: 5,361 square kilometres (2,070 square miles) [12th of 12 regionally; 65th of 97 overall]
Population (2022): 331,271 [10th of 12 regionally; 67th of 97 overall]
64 — Pyrénées-Atlantiques (Pyrenees [Mountains]-Atlantic [Ocean])
- Capital (and largest city): Pau
Area: 7,645 square kilometres (2,952 square miles) [4th of 12 regionally; 9th of 97 overall]
Population (2022): 682,621 [2nd of 12 regionally; 35th of 97 overall]
79 — Deux-Sèvres (The Two Sèvre Rivers [i.e., Nantaise and Niortaise])
- Capital (and largest city): Niort
Area: 5,999 square kilometres (2,316 square miles) [7th of 12 regionally; 46th of 97 overall]
Population (2022): 374,878 [7th of 12 regionally; 60th of 97 overall]
86 — Vienne
- Capital (and largest city): Poitiers
Area: 6,990 square kilometres (2,699 square miles) [5th of 12 regionally; 16th of 97 overall]
Population (2022): 438,435 [4th of 12 regionally; 54th of 97 overall]
87 — Haute-Vienne (Upper Vienne)
- Capital (and largest city): Limoges
Area: 5,520 square kilometres (2,130 square miles) [11th of 12 regionally; 64th of 97 overall]
Population (2022): 372,359 [8th of 12 regionally; 62nd of 97 overall]
Occitanie (Occitania)
Area: 72,724 square kilometres (28,079 square miles) [2nd of 13]
Population (2022): 5,933,185 [5th of 13]
Regional languages: Occitan (Gascon, Languedocian, Provençal), Catalan (Roussillonais variant)
Alternate names: Occitània (Occitan), Occitània (Catalan)
The southernmost and second-largest region of Metropolitan France, Occitanie owes its name to the Occitan languages that were traditionally spoken throughout southern France. Roughly corresponds to the medieval county of Toulouse, or the early-modern Parliament of Toulouse, but like all regions has many subcultures. A large eastern half corresponds to the old province of Languedoc, while the west was historically part of Guyenne and Gascony, Toulouse being on the cultural border. Also includes the small county of Foix, in the Pyrenees mountains, and the Catalan Roussillon, who weren't exactly happy about the name. Maintains a sense of unity thanks to the rather homogenous culture of southwestern France, though the easternmost parts are closer to Provence than the rest of the region. This is rugby country—they even prefer it to the beautiful game.
09 — Ariège
- Capital: Foix
Largest city: Pamiers
Area: 4,890 square kilometres (1,888 square miles) [10th of 13 regionally; 76th of 97 overall]
Population (2022): 153,287 [12th of 13 regionally; 92nd of 97 overall]
11 — Aude
- Capital: Carcassonne
Largest city: Narbonne
Area: 6,139 square kilometres (2,370 square miles) [4th of 13 regionally; 39th of 97 overall]
Population (2022): 374,070 [6th of 13 regionally; 61st of 97 overall]
12 — Aveyron
- Capital (and largest city): Rodez
Area: 8,735 square kilometres (3,373 square miles) [1st of 13 regionally; 5th of 97 overall]
Population (2022): 279,595 [7th of 13 regionally; 74th of 97 overall]

30 — Gard
- Capital (and largest city): Nîmes
Area: 5,853 square kilometres (2,260 square miles) [6th of 13 regionally; 55th of 97 overall]
Population (2022): 748,437 [3rd of 13 regionally; 31st of 97 overall]
31 — Haute-Garonne (Upper Garonne)
- Capital (and largest city): Toulouse
Area: 6,309 square kilometres (2,436 square miles) [2nd of 13 regionally; 31st of 97 overall]
Population (2022): 1,400,039 [1st of 13 regionally; 13th of 97 overall]
32 — Gers
- Capital (and largest city): Auch
Area: 6,257 square kilometres (2,416 square miles) [3rd of 13 regionally; 33rd of 97 overall]
Population (2022): 191,377 [10th of 13 regionally; 85th of 97 overall]
34 — Hérault
- Capital (and largest city): Montpellier
Area: 6,101 square kilometres (2,356 square miles) [5th of 13 regionally; 42nd of 97 overall]
Population (2022): 1,175,623 [2nd of 13 regionally; 18th of 97 overall]
46 — Lot
- Capital (and largest city): Cahors
Area: 5,217 square kilometres (2,014 square miles) [8th of 13 regionally; 70th of 97 overall]
Population (2022): 174,094 [11th of 13 regionally; 88th of 97 overall]
48 — Lozère
- Capital (and largest city): Mende
Area: 5,167 square kilometres (1,995 square miles) [9th of 13 regionally; 72nd of 97 overall]
Population (2022): 76,604 [13th of 13 regionally; 97th of 97 overall]

65 — Hautes-Pyrénées (Upper Pyrenees)
- Capital (and largest city): Tarbes
Area: 4,464 square kilometres (1,724 square miles) [11th of 13 regionally; 80th of 97 overall]
Population (2022): 229,567 [9th of 13 regionally; 81st of 97 overall]
66 — Pyrénées-Orientales (Eastern Pyrenees)
- Capital (and largest city): Perpignan
Area: 4,116 square kilometres (1,589 square miles) [12th of 13 regionally; 83rd of 97 overall]
Population (2022): 479,979 [4th of 13 regionally; 53rd of 97 overall]
81 — Tarn
- Capital (and largest city): Albi
Area: 5,758 square kilometres (2,223 square miles) [7th of 13 regionally; 57th of 97 overall]
Population (2022): 389,844 [5th of 13 regionally; 59th of 97 overall]

82 — Tarn-et-Garonne (Tarn and Garonne)
- Capital (and largest city): Montauban
Area: 3,718 square kilometres (1,436 square miles) [13th of 13 regionally; 85th of 97 overall]
Population (2022): 260,669 [8th of 13 regionally; 76th of 97 overall]
Pays de la Loire (Loire Countries)
- Capital (and largest city): Nantes
Area: 32,082 square kilometres (12,387 square miles) [7th of 13]
Population (2022): 3,806,461 [8th of 13]
Alternate name: Broioù al Liger (Breton)
Made from Anjou (Maine-et-Loire), Maine (Mayenne and Sarthe), and pieces from Brittany (Loire-Atlantique) and Poitou (Vendée). Its capital, Nantes, happened to be the capital of Brittany in the pastnote . The question of whichever region the Nantes area should belong to is... a sensitive issue. Some argue Nantes is Brittany's rightful capital, and that its culture and history make it a Breton city, while others argue that Nantes is the obvious cultural, political, and economic capital for the lower Loire Valley, and that for the remainder of the region, not having Nantes as a capital makes little sense. Polls show Nantes very largely favors reunification with Brittany, but there is a sizable (and vocal) minority that ardently opposes it. There is a campaign to have Loire-Atlantique (the Breton part containing Nantes) reattached to Brittany and move the capital of the smaller Pays de la Loire from Nantes to Angers (historic capital of Anjou) or Le Mans (historic capital of Maine and seat of Sarthe département). Another proposal is to attach Vendée to Poitou, and have the rest merge with Centre-Val de Loire. The other provinces are famous for the châteaux of the Loire Valley.
44 — Loire-Atlantique (Atlantic Loire)
- Capital (and largest city): Nantes
Area: 6,815 square kilometres (2,631 square miles) [2nd of 5 regionally; 22nd of 97 overall]
Population (2022): 1,429,272 [1st of 5 regionally; 10th of 97 overall]
49 — Maine-et-Loire (Maine and Loire)
- Capital (and largest city): Angers
Area: 7,166 square kilometres (2,767 square miles) [1st of 5 regionally; 15th of 97 overall]
Population (2022): 818,273 [2nd of 5 regionally; 27th of 97 overall]
53 — Mayenne
- Capital (and largest city): Laval
Area: 5,175 square kilometres (1,998 square miles) [5th of 5 regionally; 71st of 97 overall]
Population (2022): 307,062 [5th of 5 regionally; 71st of 97 overall]
72 — Sarthe
- Capital (and largest city): Le Mans
Area: 6,206 square kilometres (2,396 square miles) [4th of 5 regionally; 37th of 97 overall]
Population (2022): 566,412 [4th of 5 regionally; 45th of 97 overall]
85 — Vendée
- Capital (and largest city): La-Roche-sur-Yon
Area: 6,720 square kilometres (2,595 square miles) [3rd of 5 regionally; 27th of 97 overall]
Population (2022): 685,442 [3rd of 5 regionally; 34th of 97 overall]

Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (Provence-Alps-French Riviera [lit., Azure Coast])
Area: 31,400 square kilometres (12,124 square miles) [9th of 13]
Population (2022): 5,081,101 [7th of 13]
Regional Languages: Occitan (Provençal and Vivaro-Alpine)
Alternate name: Provença-Aups-Còsta d'Azur (Occitan)
The southeasternmost region of France, its name is very often abridged as PACA (pronounced "paka"). Besides the Alps, PACA is very touristic, especially the Côte d'Azur (also known as the French Riviera).
While the regional language Provençal is considered a variant of Occitan, it uses a different spelling norm called "Mistralian spelling" (writer Frédéric Mistral was a famous proponent of the language), which is a little more phonetic and also closer to French spelling ("gn" instead of "nh", "ill" instead of "lh", "ou" instead of "o", etc.)
04 — Alpes-de-Haute-Provence (Alps of Upper Provence)
- Capital (and largest city): Digne-les-Bains
Area: 6,925 square kilometres (2,674 square miles) [1st of 6 regionally; 17th of 97 overall]
Population (2022): 164,308 [5th of 6 regionally; 90th of 97 overall]
05 — Hautes-Alpes (Upper Alps)
- Capital (and largest city): Gap
Area: 5,549 square kilometres (2,142 square miles) [3rd of 6 regionally; 61st of 97 overall]
Population (2022): 141,220 [6th of 6 regionally; 95th of 97 overall]
06 — Alpes-Maritimes (Maritime Alps)
- Capital (and largest city): Nice
Area: 4,299 square kilometres (1,660 square miles) [5th of 6 regionally; 82nd of 97 overall]
Population (2022): 1,094,283 [2nd of 6 regionally; 20th of 97 overall]

13 — Bouches-du-Rhône (Mouths of the Rhône [River])
- Capital (and largest city): Marseille
Area: 5,087 square kilometres (1,964 square miles) [4th of 6 regionally]
Population (2022): 2,043,110 [1st of 6 regionally; 3rd of 97 overall]

83 — Var
- Capital (and largest city): Toulon
Area: 5,973 square kilometres (2,306 square miles) [2nd of 6 regionally; 47th of 97 overall]
Population (2022): 1,076,711 [3rd of 6 regionally; 22nd of 97 overall]
84 — Vaucluse
- Capital (and largest city): Avignon
Area: 3,567 square kilometres (1,377 square miles) [6th of 6 regionally; 86th of 97 overall]
Population (2022): 561,469 [4th of 6 regionally; 46th of 97 overall]
Overseas France
Guadeloupe (971)
The biggest of the two Caribbean French régions, located between Montserrat in the north and Dominica in the south. Its capital is Basse-Terre but the biggest city is Pointe-à-Pitre. Guadeloupe has a volcano, La Grande Soufrière (simply La Soufrière in French), still active but asleep since a long time.Many little French islands of the Lesser Antilles are under Guadeloupe's rule.
Martinique (972)
The other French Caribbean région, Martinique is much smaller and less populated. It is located between Dominica in the north and Saint Lucia in the south. The capital is Fort-de-France.Martinique also has a volcano, the Montagne Pelée (Mount Pelée), but it is much more dangerous than the Soufrière. In 1902, it completely destroyed Martinique's former capital, Saint-Pierre, leaving only two survivors, one of them a criminal convict.
Memories of slavery are still very vivid and touchy there, as it still shapes mentalities despite having been abolished more than 150 years ago.
Martinique, like Guadeloupe, is renowned for its rum and bananas.
Guyane française (French Guiana, 973)
The biggest of all the French régions before the 2016 reorganization (Nouvelle-Aquitaine is slightly larger): it is as big as Belgium or Portugal. It is the only one which isn't an island, being located between Suriname at the west and Brazil at the east − which means that, amusingly, France's longest border is with Brazil (more than 700km). Guyane remains for its overwhelming part a chunk of the Amazonian rainforest, where several indigenous tribes still live. But most of the population lives on the shores, where you'll also find basically all infrastructure.The capital is Cayenne, but the economic heart is Kourou and its European Space Center, from where the Ariane rockets are lauched. French Guiana is also known for still having gold prospectors and having been the location of the most infamously renowned French penal colony, the "Bagne de Cayenne", from which Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman once escaped. It was nicknamed "la guillotine sèche" (the dry guillotine), for crying out loud! The economic situation is notably worse than in mainland France but better than in many countries of the region. Ahead of the 2017 Presidential elections there were major youth protests against economic woes and France's "hands off" approach at governing, which brought non Kourou related news about the department into European focus for the first time in ages. Still, independence is if anything a fringe movement without political relevance.
Mayotte (976)
Located in the Indian Ocean, Mayotte is a tiny island which is geographically a part of the Comoros Islands
La Réunion (974)
Mauritius' sister, Réunion is the most populated of the French Overseas régions. It is a rocky island of volcanic origin, much like Hawaii. Its volcano is very active but usually benign (it sometimes destroys some roads and village, but people are seldom killed). Formerly known as "Île Bourbon", Réunion never had an indigenous population and thus is very racially mixed, and has a very tolerant society.Capital is Saint-Denis (not to be confused with the metropolitan city of the same name). Réunion is renowned for its volcano, food (a surprising mix of French, Indian and African cooking), surf spots and awesome inner mountains and landscapes. It is also said to be a paradise for botanists given the range of completely unique species it shelters.