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Departments of France facts for kids

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The départements (or departments) are administrative parts of France and many French colonies, similar to English counties. Départements are a kind of local government.

The 101 French départements are now grouped into 13 metropolitan and five overseas régions. Their capitals are called préfectures.

French régions and préfecture

Départements de France
Départements (Departments) and Regions of France
INSEE code Arms Department Prefecture Region Named after
01 Coat of arms of department 01 Ain Bourg-en-Bresse  Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Ain (river)
02 Coat of arms of department 02 Aisne Laon  Hauts-de-France Aisne (river)
03 Coat of arms of department 03 Allier Moulins  Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Allier (river)
04 Coat of arms of department 04 Alpes-de-Haute-Provence Digne-les-Bains  Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Alps
05 Coat of arms of department 05 Hautes-Alpes Gap  Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Alps
06 Coat of arms of department 06 Alpes-Maritimes Nice  Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Alps
07 Coat of arms of department 07 Ardèche Privas  Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Ardèche (river)
08 Coat of arms of department 08 Ardennes Charleville-Mézières  Grand Est Ardennes Forest
09 Coat of arms of department 09 Ariège Foix  Occitanie Ariège (river)
10 Coat of arms of department 10 Aube Troyes  Grand Est Aube (river)
11 Coat of arms of department 11 Aude Carcassonne  Occitanie Aude (river)
12 Coat of arms of department 12 Aveyron Rodez  Occitanie Aveyron (river)
13 Coat of arms of department 13 Bouches-du-Rhône Marseille  Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Rhône (river)
14 Coat of arms of department 14 Calvados Caen  Normandy Calvados rocks
15 Coat of arms of department 15 Cantal Aurillac  Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Mounts of Cantal
16 Coat of arms of department 16 Charente Angoulême  Nouvelle-Aquitaine Charente (river)
17 Coat of arms of department 17 Charente-Maritime La Rochelle  Nouvelle-Aquitaine Charente (river)
18 Coat of arms of department 18 Cher Bourges  Centre-Val de Loire Cher (river)
19 Coat of arms of department 19 Corrèze Tulle  Nouvelle-Aquitaine Corrèze (river)
2A Coat of arms of Corsica Corse-du-Sud Ajaccio  Corsica Island of Corsica
2B Coat of arms of Corsica Haute-Corse Bastia  Corsica Island of Corsica
21 Coat of arms of department 21 Côte-d'Or Dijon  Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Côte d'Or (escarpment)
22 Coat of arms of department 22 Côtes-d'Armor Saint-Brieuc Brittany Brittany coasts of Armorica
23 Coat of arms of department 23 Creuse Guéret  Nouvelle-Aquitaine Creuse (river)
24 Coat of arms of department 24 Dordogne Périgueux  Nouvelle-Aquitaine Dordogne (river)
25 Coat of arms of department 25 Doubs Besançon  Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Doubs (river)
26 Coat of arms of department 26 Drôme Valence  Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Drôme (river)
27 Coat of arms of department 27 Eure Évreux  Normandy Eure (river)
28 Coat of arms of department 28 Eure-et-Loir Chartres  Centre-Val de Loire Eure and Loir rivers
29 Coat of arms of department 29 Finistère Quimper Brittany Brittany Finis Terræ (end of earth)
30 Coat of arms of department 30 Gard Nîmes  Occitanie Gardon (river)
31 Coat of arms of department 31 Haute-Garonne Toulouse  Occitanie Garonne (river)
32 Coat of arms of department 32 Gers Auch  Occitanie Gers (river)
33 Coat of arms of department 33 Gironde Bordeaux  Nouvelle-Aquitaine Gironde (river)
34 Coat of arms of department 34 Hérault Montpellier  Occitanie Hérault (river)
35 Coat of arms of department 35 Ille-et-Vilaine Rennes Brittany Brittany Ille and Vilaine rivers
36 Coat of arms of department 36 Indre Châteauroux  Centre-Val de Loire Indre (river)
37 Coat of arms of department 37 Indre-et-Loire Tours  Centre-Val de Loire Indre and Loire rivers
38 Coat of arms of department 38 Isère Grenoble  Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Isère (river)
39 Coat of arms of department 39 Jura Lons-le-Saunier  Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Jura Mountains
40 Coat of arms of department 40 Landes Mont-de-Marsan  Nouvelle-Aquitaine Landes forest
41 Coat of arms of department 41 Loir-et-Cher Blois  Centre-Val de Loire Loir and Cher rivers
42 Coat of arms of department 42 Loire Saint-Étienne  Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Loire (river)
43 Coat of arms of department 43 Haute-Loire Le Puy-en-Velay  Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Loire (river)
44 Coat of arms of department 44 Loire-Atlantique Nantes  Pays de la Loire Loire (river)
45 Coat of arms of department 45 Loiret Orléans  Centre-Val de Loire Loiret (river)
46 Coat of arms of department 46 Lot Cahors  Occitanie Lot (river)
47 Coat of arms of department 47 Lot-et-Garonne Agen  Nouvelle-Aquitaine Lot and Garonne rivers
48 Coat of arms of department 48 Lozère Mende  Occitanie Mont Lozère
49 Coat of arms of department 49 Maine-et-Loire Angers  Pays de la Loire Maine and Loire rivers
50 Coat of arms of department 50 Manche Saint-Lô  Normandy English Channel
51 Coat of arms of department 51 Marne Châlons-en-Champagne  Grand Est Marne (river)
52 Coat of arms of department 52 Haute-Marne Chaumont  Grand Est Marne (river)
53 Coat of arms of department 53 Mayenne Laval  Pays de la Loire Mayenne (river)
54 Coat of arms of department 54 Meurthe-et-Moselle Nancy  Grand Est Meurthe and Moselle rivers
55 Coat of arms of department 55 Meuse Bar-le-Duc  Grand Est Meuse (river)
56 Coat of arms of department 56 Morbihan Vannes Brittany Brittany Gulf of Morbihan
57 Coat of arms of department 57 Moselle Metz  Grand Est Moselle (river)
58 Coat of arms of department 58 Nièvre Nevers  Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Nièvre (river)
59 Coat of arms of department 59 Nord Lille  Hauts-de-France North
60 Coat of arms of department 60 Oise Beauvais  Hauts-de-France Oise (river)
61 Coat of arms of department 61 Orne Alençon  Normandy Orne (river)
62 Coat of arms of department 62 Pas-de-Calais Arras  Hauts-de-France Strait of Dover
63 Coat of arms of department 63 Puy-de-Dôme Clermont-Ferrand  Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Puy de Dôme volcano
64 Coat of arms of department 64 Pyrénées-Atlantiques Pau  Nouvelle-Aquitaine Pyrenees
65 Coat of arms of department 65 Hautes-Pyrénées Tarbes  Occitanie Pyrenees
66 Coat of arms of department 66 Pyrénées-Orientales Perpignan  Occitanie Pyrenees
67 Coat of arms of department 67 Bas-Rhin Strasbourg  Grand Est Rhine (river)
68 Coat of arms of department 68 Haut-Rhin Colmar  Grand Est Rhine (river)
69 Coat of arms of department 69 Rhône Lyon (provisional)  Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Rhône (river)
69M Metropolitan Lyon Lyon  Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes communes of Lyon
70 Coat of arms of department 70 Haute-Saône Vesoul  Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Saône (river)
71 Coat of arms of department 71 Saône-et-Loire Mâcon  Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Saône and Loire rivers
72 Coat of arms of department 72 Sarthe Le Mans  Pays de la Loire Sarthe (river)
73 Coat of arms of department 73 Savoie Chambéry  Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of Savoy
74 Coat of arms of department 74 Haute-Savoie Annecy  Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of Savoy
75 Coat of arms of department 75 Paris Paris  Île-de-France city of Paris
76 Coat of arms of department 76 Seine-Maritime Rouen  Normandy Seine (river)
77 Coat of arms of department 77 Seine-et-Marne Melun  Île-de-France Seine and Marne rivers
78 Coat of arms of department 78 Yvelines Versailles  Île-de-France Forest of Yvelines
79 Coat of arms of department 79 Deux-Sèvres Niort  Nouvelle-Aquitaine Sèvre Nantaise and Sèvre Niortaise rivers
80 Coat of arms of department 80 Somme Amiens  Hauts-de-France Somme (river)
81 Coat of arms of department 81 Tarn Albi  Occitanie Tarn (river)
82 Coat of arms of department 82 Tarn-et-Garonne Montauban  Occitanie Tarn and Garonne rivers
83 Coat of arms of department 83 Var Toulon  Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Var (river)
84 Coat of arms of department 84 Vaucluse Avignon  Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Fontaine-de-Vaucluse spring
85 Coat of arms of department 85 Vendée La Roche-sur-Yon  Pays de la Loire Vendée (river)
86 Coat of arms of department 86 Vienne Poitiers  Nouvelle-Aquitaine Vienne (river)
87 Coat of arms of department 87 Haute-Vienne Limoges  Nouvelle-Aquitaine Vienne (river)
88 Coat of arms of department 88 Vosges Épinal  Grand Est Vosges Mountains
89 Coat of arms of department 89 Yonne Auxerre  Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Yonne (river)
90 Coat of arms of department 90 Territoire de Belfort Belfort  Bourgogne-Franche-Comté city of Belfort
91 Coat of arms of department 91 Essonne Évry  Île-de-France Essonne (river)
92 Coat of arms of department 92 Hauts-de-Seine Nanterre  Île-de-France Seine (river)
93 Coat of arms of department 93 Seine-Saint-Denis Bobigny  Île-de-France Seine (river)
94 Coat of arms of department 94 Val-de-Marne Créteil  Île-de-France Marne (river)
95 Coat of arms of department 95 Val-d'Oise Pontoise  Île-de-France Oise (river)
971 Coat of arms of Guadeloupe Guadeloupe Basse-Terre  Guadeloupe
972 Coat of arms of Martinique Martinique Fort-de-France  Martinique
973 Coat of arms of Guyane Guyane Cayenne  French Guiana
974 Coat of arms of Réunion La Réunion Saint-Denis  Réunion
976 Coat of arms of Mayotte Mayotte Mamoudzou  Mayotte
Notes:
  • Most of the coats of arms are not official
  • This department was known as Basses-Alpes until 1970
  • This department was known as Charente-Inférieure until 1941
  • This department was known as Côtes-du-Nord until 1990
  • This department was known as Bec-d'Ambès from 1793 until 1795. The Convention eliminated the name to avoid recalling the outlawed Girondin political faction.
  • This department was known as Loire-Inférieure until 1957
  • This department was known as Mayenne-et-Loire until 1791
  • This department was known as Basses-Pyrénées until 1969
  • Number 75 was formerly assigned to Seine
  • This department was known as Seine-Inférieure until 1955
  • Number 78 was formerly assigned to Seine-et-Oise
  • Number 91 was formerly assigned to Alger, in French Algeria
  • Number 92 was formerly assigned to Oran, in French Algeria
  • Number 93 was formerly assigned to Constantine, in French Algeria
  • The prefecture of Val-d'Oise was established in Pontoise when the department was created, but moved de facto to the neighbouring commune of Cergy; currently, both part of the ville nouvelle of Cergy-Pontoise
  • The overseas departments each constitute a region and enjoy a status identical to metropolitan France. They are part of France and the European Union, though special EU rules apply to them.
  • Mayotte became the 101st department of France on 31 March 2011. The INSEE code of Mayotte is 976 (975 is already assigned to the French overseas collectivity of Saint Pierre and Miquelon)
  • Metropoles with territorial collectivity statute.
Départements de France English
Regions and departments of metropolitan France; the numbers are those of the first column
Petite couronne-2
The departments in the immediate vicinity of Paris; the numbers are those of the first column

Images for kids

  • ChassisFiguratif

    Geometrical proposition rejected

  • Algérie fr

    The three Algerian departments in 1848

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Departamentos de Francia para niños

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