Arrondissements of France

The cities of Paris, Lyon and Marseille are also divided into municipal arrondissements, not to be confused with the arrondissements addressed in this article.

This article is part of the series on Administrative divisions of France

Main article

Regions (incl. overseas regions)

Departments (incl. overseas departments)

Arrondissements

Cantons

Intercommunality Urban communities Agglomeration communities Commune communities Syndicates of New Agglomeration

Communes Associated communes Municipal arrondissements

Others in Overseas France Overseas collectivities Sui generis collectivity Overseas country Overseas territory Clipperton Island

The 101 French departments are divided into 335 arrondissements (French pronunciation: ​[äʁõd̪is̪(ə)ˈmɒ̃]), which may roughly be translated into English as districts. A more etymologically precise, but less allegorical, definition would be encirclements, from the French arrondir, to encircle. Because no single translation adequately conveys the layered sense of the word, the French term is usually used in English writing.

The capital of an arrondissement is called a subprefecture. When an arrondissement contains the prefecture (capital) of the department, that prefecture is the capital of the arrondissement, acting both as a prefecture and as a subprefecture.

Arrondissements are further divided into cantons and communes.

Role and administration

The administration of an arrondissement is assigned to a subprefect (French: sous-préfet) who assists the departmental prefect (préfet).

Unlike French regions, departments and communes, arrondissements do not have the status of legal entity in public law. In addition, unlike those other administrative divisions, they are not run by elected officials, but by political appointees, officials appointed by the French president.

History

The concept of arrondissements was proposed several times as an administrative reform during the Ancien Régime, notably by the intendant of the généralité of Brittany, Caze de La Bove, in his Mémoire concernant les subdélégués de l'intendance de Bretagne in 1775.

The arrondissements were created after the French Revolution by the Loi du 28 pluviôse in the year VIII of the Republican Calendar (17 February 1800) and replaced "districts". In certain periods in French history, they have served a role in legislative elections, especially during the Third Republic. In 1926, 106 arrondissements were suppressed by the government. While it claimed it was to achieve fiscal savings, some political analysts considered the results electoral manipulation. Some of these suppressed arrondissements were restored in 1942.

Statistics

Most departments have only three or four arrondissements. The departments of Paris and of the Territory of Belfort have only one, while the department of Moselle has nine. Mayotte has none.

See also

• Administrative divisions of France
• List of arrondissements of France
• Arrondissement
• Municipal arrondissements of France
• Arrondissements of Paris