Administrative divisions
France is divided into 18 regions (located in Europe and overseas), five overseas collectivities, one overseas territory, one special collectivity—New Caledonia and one uninhabited island directly under the authority of the Minister of Overseas France—Clipperton.
Regions
Since 2016, France is divided into 18 administrative regions: 13 regions in metropolitan France (including Corsica),[123] and five overseas.[82] The regions are further subdivided into 101 departments,[124] which are numbered mainly alphabetically. The department number is used in postal codes and was formerly used on vehicle registration plates. Among the 101 French departments, five (French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Mayotte, and Réunion) are in overseas regions (ROMs) that are simultaneously overseas departments (DOMs), enjoying the same status as metropolitan departments and are thereby included in the European Union.
The 101 departments are subdivided into 335 arrondissements, which are, in turn, subdivided into 2,054 cantons.[125] These cantons are then divided into 36,658 communes, which are municipalities with an elected municipal council.[125] Three communes—Paris, Lyon and Marseille—are subdivided into 45 municipal arrondissements.
Overseas territories and collectivities
In addition to the 18 regions and 101 departments, the French Republic has five overseas collectivities (French Polynesia, Saint Barthélemy, Saint Martin, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, and Wallis and Futuna), one sui generis collectivity (New Caledonia), one overseas territory (French Southern and Antarctic Lands), and one island possession in the Pacific Ocean (Clipperton Island). Overseas collectivities and territories form part of the French Republic, but do not form part of the European Union or its fiscal area (except for Saint Barthélemy, which seceded from Guadeloupe in 2007). The Pacific Collectivities (COMs) of French Polynesia, Wallis and Futuna, and New Caledonia continue to use the CFP franc[126] whose value is strictly linked to that of the euro. In contrast, the five overseas regions used the French franc and now use the euro.[127]