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List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants facts for kids

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For all communes of France sorted by department, see Lists of communes of France.
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France is divided into many small areas called communes. You can think of them like towns, villages, or even neighborhoods within a big city. Each commune has its own local government.

As of January 2019, France had 473 communes with more than 20,000 people. This includes both mainland France and its overseas departments and regions. The numbers count people who usually live in the commune. It does not include people who might be counted somewhere else, like students living away from home. Often, a city's "urban unit" (which includes nearby towns) has many more people than just the main commune itself.

Largest Communes in France

Here's a list of some of France's largest communes. You can see how their populations changed between 2006, 2013, and 2019.

Commune Department Region Population, 2006 Population, 2013 Population, 2019 Rank, 2019
Paris Paris Île-de-France 2,181,371 2,229,621 2,165,423 1
Marseille Bouches-du-Rhône Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur 839,043 855,393 870,731 2
Lyon Lyon Metropolis Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes 472,305 500,715 522,969 3
Toulouse Haute-Garonne Occitanie 437,715 458,298 493,465 4
Nice Alpes-Maritimes Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur 347,060 342,295 342,669 5
Nantes Loire-Atlantique Pays de la Loire 282,853 292,718 318,808 6
Montpellier Hérault Occitanie 251,634 272,084 295,542 7
Strasbourg Bas-Rhin Grand Est 272,975 275,718 287,228 8
Bordeaux Gironde Nouvelle-Aquitaine 232,260 243,626 260,958 9
Lille Nord Hauts-de-France 226,014 231,491 234,475 10
Rennes Ille-et-Vilaine Brittany 209,613 211,373 220,488 11
Reims Marne Grand Est 183,837 182,592 181,194 12
Toulon Var Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur 167,816 163,760 178,745 13
Saint-Étienne Loire Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes 177,480 172,023 173,821 14
Le Havre Seine-Maritime Normandy 182,580 172,074 168,290 15
Grenoble Isère Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes 156,107 160,215 158,198 16
Dijon Côte-d'Or Bourgogne-Franche-Comté 151,504 153,003 158,002 17
Angers Maine-et-Loire Pays de la Loire 152,337 150,125 155,850 18
Saint-Denis Réunion Réunion 138,314 142,442 153,810 19
Villeurbanne Lyon Metropolis Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes 136,473 147,192 152,212 20
Nîmes Gard Occitanie 144,092 150,564 148,561 21
Clermont-Ferrand Puy-de-Dôme Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes 138,992 141,463 147,865 22
Aix-en-Provence Bouches-du-Rhône Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur 142,534 141,545 145,133 23
Le Mans Sarthe Pays de la Loire 144,016 144,244 143,847 24
Brest Finistère Brittany 144,548 139,386 139,926 25
Tours Indre-et-Loire Centre-Val de Loire 136,942 134,803 137,087 26
Amiens Somme Hauts-de-France 136,105 132,699 134,706 27
Limoges Haute-Vienne Nouvelle-Aquitaine 136,539 135,098 130,876 28
Annecy Haute-Savoie Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes 51,023 52,029 130,721 29
Boulogne-Billancourt Hauts-de-Seine Île-de-France 110,251 116,794 121,583 30
Perpignan Pyrénées-Orientales Occitanie 115,326 120,959 119,344 31
Metz Moselle Grand Est 124,435 118,634 118,489 32
Besançon Doubs Bourgogne-Franche-Comté 117,080 116,952 117,912 33
Orléans Loiret Centre-Val de Loire 113,130 114,375 116,269 34
Saint-Denis Seine-Saint-Denis Île-de-France 97,875 109,343 112,852 35
Rouen Seine-Maritime Normandy 107,904 110,755 112,321 36
Montreuil Seine-Saint-Denis Île-de-France 101,587 104,139 111,240 37
Argenteuil Val-d'Oise Île-de-France 102,683 106,817 111,038 38
Mulhouse Haut-Rhin Grand Est 110,514 112,063 108,312 39
Caen Calvados Normandy 110,399 107,229 106,230 40
Nancy Meurthe-et-Moselle Grand Est 105,468 104,072 105,058 41
Saint-Paul Réunion Réunion 99,291 104,332 103,208 42
Roubaix Nord Hauts-de-France 97,952 95,866 98,828 43
Tourcoing Nord Hauts-de-France 92,357 93,974 98,656 44
Nanterre Hauts-de-Seine Île-de-France 88,316 92,227 96,277 45
Vitry-sur-Seine Val-de-Marne Île-de-France 82,902 90,075 95,510 46
Créteil Val-de-Marne Île-de-France 88,939 89,989 93,246 47
Avignon Vaucluse Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur 92,454 90,305 91,143 48
Poitiers Vienne Nouvelle-Aquitaine 88,776 87,427 89,212 49
Aubervilliers Seine-Saint-Denis Île-de-France 73,506 77,452 88,948 50

France's Overseas Territories and Their Main Towns

France also has several overseas territories around the world. These places are also divided into communes. The populations for these communes come from different census years. For example, the data for Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon, Saint-Barthélemy, Saint-Martin, and New Caledonia is from 2019. French Polynesia's data is from 2017, and Wallis and Futuna's is from 2018.

Baie de l'Orphelinat
Nouméa
Mayotte-mamoudzou-1800x1000-d259bf1d
Mamoudzou
Marigot 2
Saint-Martin

The table below shows some of the largest communes in these overseas territories.

Commune Overseas and sui generis collectivities Pop. 2017–2019 Rank
Nouméa New Caledonia 94,285 1
Dumbéa New Caledonia 35,873 2
Saint-Martin Collectivity of Saint Martin 35,334 3
Faʻaʻā French Polynesia 29,506 4
Punaʻauia French Polynesia 28,103 5
Le Mont-Dore New Caledonia 27,620 6
Papeete French Polynesia 26,926 7
Païta New Caledonia 24,563 8

Images for kids

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    Marseille, a large port city in the south

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    Nice, a beautiful city on the French Riviera

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    Strasbourg, famous for its cathedral

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    Bordeaux, a world wine capital

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    Lille, a vibrant city in northern France

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    Rennes, the capital of Brittany

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    Reims, known for its champagne

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    Le Havre, a major port city

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    Saint-Étienne, a city with industrial heritage

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    Toulon, a naval base city

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    Grenoble, surrounded by mountains

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    Dijon, famous for its mustard

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    Angers, a city with a medieval castle

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    Villeurbanne, a city near Lyon

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    Saint-Denis, Réunion, an overseas commune

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    Le Mans, famous for its 24-hour race

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    Nîmes, known for its Roman ruins

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    Aix-en-Provence, a beautiful city in the south

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    Brest, a port city in Brittany

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    Clermont-Ferrand, surrounded by volcanoes

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    Limoges, known for its porcelain

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    Tours, in the Loire Valley

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    Amiens, with its famous cathedral

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    Metz, a city with a rich history

  • Perpignan - panoramio

    Perpignan, near the Spanish border

  • Basilique St Madeleine Besançon

    Besançon, a historic city

  • Seine Paris Boulogne

    Boulogne-Billancourt, a suburb of Paris

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    Orléans, a city linked to Joan of Arc

  • Rouen (37903223574)

    Rouen, a historic city in Normandy

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    Mulhouse, an industrial city

  • Abbaye-aux-hommes

    Caen, a city in Normandy

  • Saint Denis Eglise,Paris

    Saint-Denis, Seine-Saint-Denis, a suburb of Paris

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    Nancy, France, known for Place Stanislas

  • SaintPaul Reunion

    Saint-Paul, Réunion, another overseas commune

  • Aerial View of Pont d'Argenteuil 2008-10-24

    Argenteuil, a suburb of Paris

  • Montreuil panorama

    Montreuil, Seine-Saint-Denis, a suburb of Paris

  • Eglise Saint Martin, Roubaix

    Roubaix, a city in northern France

  • Dunkerque vue port

    Dunkirk, a port city

  • Hôtel de ville de tourcoing

    Tourcoing, a city near Lille

  • Avignon, Palais des Papes depuis Tour Philippe le Bel by JM Rosier

    Avignon, famous for its Papal Palace

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    Nanterre, a suburb of Paris

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    Poitiers, a historic city

  • Fort-de-France-baie

    Fort-de-France, Martinique, an overseas commune

  • Versailles Garden

    Versailles, known for its famous palace

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    Vitry-sur-Seine, a suburb of Paris

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    Asnières-sur-Seine, a suburb of Paris

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    Pau, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, a city in the Pyrenees

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    Rueil-Malmaison, a suburb of Paris

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    La Rochelle, a port city

  • Antibesbordmer

    Antibes, a coastal city

  • Tour guet place armes phare calais

    Calais, a port city facing England

  • From the ferry to Ile Sainte Marguerite - panoramio - Alistair Cunningham

    Cannes, famous for its film festival

  • Beziers Arenes

    Béziers, known for its Roman arena

  • Colmar-marché couvert

    Colmar, a charming city in Alsace

  • Front de mer st-nazaire

    Saint-Nazaire, a port city

  • Kathedrale Bourges v2

    Bourges, known for its cathedral

  • Marigot 2

    Marigot, the main town in Saint-Martin

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Anexo:Comunas de Francia por población para niños

  • Urban area (France)
  • Urban unit (including a list of "urban units" with more than 200,000 inhabitants)
  • Lists of communes of France
  • List of cities in Europe by country
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