Departments of France Facts for Kids

The départements (say "day-part-moh") are like administrative areas or counties in France. They help the French government manage different parts of the country. Think of them as smaller pieces that make up the bigger puzzle of France.

France has 101 départements. Most of them are in mainland France, which is called "metropolitan France." A few are overseas, like Guadeloupe or Réunion. These départements are grouped into larger areas called régions (say "ray-jyon"). Each département has a main city, called a préfecture, which is like its capital.

What are French Départements?
- How are Départements Named?
- Overseas Départements
Examples of Départements
Images for kids
See also

What are French Départements?

Départements (Departments) and Regions of France. Each number shows a different département.

Départements are a type of local government in France. They were created a long time ago, during the French Revolution, to make sure the country was organized fairly. Each département has its own local government that helps with things like roads, schools, and social services.

There are 13 regions in mainland France and 5 overseas regions. Each region is made up of several départements. For example, the region of Occitanie has 13 départements, including Haute-Garonne and Aude.

How are Départements Named?

Many départements are named after rivers or mountains that flow through them. This makes it easy to know where they are located. For example:

The Ain département is named after the Ain (river).
The Pyrénées-Atlantiques département is named after the Pyrenees mountains and the Atlantic Ocean.
The Rhône département is named after the Rhône River.

Sometimes, a département is named after a special place or even its main city. For instance, the Paris département is named after the famous city of Paris itself.

Overseas Départements

France also has five overseas départements. These are not in Europe but are still fully part of France and the European Union. They have the same status as the départements in mainland France.

Mayotte became the 101st département of France on March 31, 2011.

Examples of Départements

Here are a few examples of French départements and their main cities:

Ain (code 01) - Its préfecture is Bourg-en-Bresse. It's in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region.
Aisne (code 02) - Its préfecture is Laon. It's in the Hauts-de-France region.
Alpes-Maritimes (code 06) - Its préfecture is Nice. It's in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region.
Bouches-du-Rhône (code 13) - Its préfecture is Marseille. It's in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region.
Paris (code 75) - Its préfecture is Paris. It's in the Île-de-France region.
Guadeloupe (code 971) - Its préfecture is Basse-Terre. It's an overseas département.