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32-551: France is divided into eighteen administrative regions ( French : régions , singular région [ʁeʒjɔ̃] ), of which thirteen are located in metropolitan France (in Europe), while the other five are overseas regions (not to be confused with the overseas collectivities , which have a semi-autonomous status). All of the thirteen metropolitan administrative regions (including Corsica as of 2019) are further subdivided into two to thirteen administrative departments , with

64-568: A Gross Metropolitan Product of about €85 billion. The region has been part of Alps–Mediterranean Euroregion since 10 July 2007. Rhône-Alpes region has hosted the Winter Olympics three times; in 1924 at Chamonix , 1968 at Grenoble , and 1992 at Albertville . Situated between Paris and the Côte d’Azur, on the border with both Switzerland and Italy, and offering access to two international airports ( Lyon and Geneva ), rail connections and

96-625: A vast motorway network, the Rhône-Alpes region is at "the crossroads of Europe". Boasting eight natural parks and peerless sites such as Mont Blanc and the Gorges de l’Ardèche , Rhône-Alpes offers a wide range of different landscapes: mountains, vineyards and gentle valleys, fields of lavender and olive groves. Every form of sport is readily available, set against a natural backdrop: skiing, hiking, mountain biking or even paragliding and canoeing. Besides hosting three Winter Olympics games due to its being

128-564: Is a prosperous region which can be seen by its per capita GDP of about €31,231 ($ 40,000), which is higher than the French average, and an average income of €35,910 ($ 50,246), its economy second in size only to Île-de-France in France. This can be attributed to the diversity of the production in different sectors. The region is one of the Four Motors for Europe . In the past mining, especially coal mining

160-740: Is a recent designation, given to the overseas departments that have similar powers to those of the regions of metropolitan France . As integral parts of the French Republic , they are represented in the National Assembly , Senate and Economic and Social Council , elect a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) and use the euro as their currency. Although these territories have had these political powers since 1982, when France's decentralisation policy dictated that they be given elected regional councils along with other regional powers,

192-539: Is a table of former regions and which new region they became part of. (Occitania) Regions lack separate legislative authority and therefore cannot write their own statutory law. They levy their own taxes and, in return, receive a decreasing part of their budget from the central government, which gives them a portion of the taxes it levies. They also have considerable budgets managed by a regional council (conseil régional) made up of representatives voted into office in regional elections. A region's primary responsibility

224-517: Is located in the southeast of France. The neighboring (pre-2016) regions are Bourgogne (Burgundy) and Franche-Comté to the north, Auvergne to the west, Languedoc-Roussillon to the southwest, and Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur to the south. The eastern part of the region is in the Alps , and borders Switzerland and Italy. The highest peak is Mont Blanc , on the French-Italian border. The central part of

256-572: Is made in the region. Lyon is the home of very typical and traditional restaurants: the bouchons . Bouchons are usually convivial restaurants serving local dishes, and local wines. Lyon is famous for its morning snacks, the mâchons , made up of local charcuterie , especially the rosette and usually accompanied by Beaujolais red wine . Traditional local dishes include saucisson de Lyon (sausage), andouillette , coq au vin , esox (pike) quenelle , gras double ( tripe cooked with onions), salade lyonnaise (lettuce with bacon , croûtons and

288-412: Is shared across some or all levels of government (e.g. transport, parks, tourism, culture, and sport get different types of support from different levels). Historically, France was divided into a complex mosaic of more or less independent entities. Their gradual incorporation into France as provinces may be followed in the article Territorial formation of France . Rh%C3%B4ne-Alpes Rhône-Alpes

320-580: Is to build and furnish high schools. In March 2004, the French central government unveiled a controversial plan to transfer regulation of certain categories of non-teaching school staff to the regional authorities. Critics of this plan contended that tax revenue was insufficient to pay for the resulting costs, and that such measures would increase regional inequalities. In addition, regions have considerable discretionary power over infrastructural spending, e.g., education, public transit, universities and research, and assistance to business owners. This has meant that

352-537: Is unique in the French Republic: it is the only French local government that is not a territorial collectivity (although its subdivisions are territorial collectivities). It is regarded as a sui generis collectivity , which means that local government and parliament have the power to pass and enforce specific laws without seeking the consent of the French Government; unless such laws are declared illegitimate by

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384-535: The French Southern and Antarctic Lands , which have no permanent population and no communes. French subdivisions that have a (limited) freedom of administration are called territorial collectivities . Among them are regions, departments, communes, overseas collectivities, provinces (only present in New Caledonia), and the territorial collectivity of Corsica which belongs to no category (but is usually grouped with

416-723: The President of France . The French Republic is divided into 18 regions: 12 in mainland France and 6 elsewhere (1 in Europe : Corsica ; 2 in the Caribbean (the Lesser Antilles ): Guadeloupe and Martinique ; 1 in South America : French Guiana ; and 2 in the Indian Ocean near East Africa : Mayotte and Réunion ). They are traditionally divided between the metropolitan regions, located on

448-416: The prefect of each region's administrative centre's department also acting as the regional prefect. The overseas regions administratively consist of only one department each and hence also have the status of overseas departments. Most administrative regions also have the status of regional territorial collectivities , which comes with a local government , with departmental and communal collectivities below

480-678: The Constitutional Council in a specific proceeding brought to the Constitutional Council. As agreed in the 1998 Nouméa Accord , a New Caledonian citizenship was established (in addition to the French citizenship which is kept in parallel, along with the consequent European citizenship) and a self-determination referendum was held in 2018 . Two follow-up referendums were held in 2020 and 2021 . These territories have no permanent civilian population. The residents consist of military personnel, scientific researchers, and support staff. 1 overseas territory ( territoire d'outre-mer , or TOM):

512-543: The European continent, and the overseas regions, located outside the European continent. Both have the same status and form the most integrated part of the French Republic. As of 1 January 2022 , metropolitan France is divided into the following: Furthermore, as of January 2009 , there exist 2,585 intercommunal structures grouping 34,077 communes (93.2% of all the communes of metropolitan France), with 87.4% of

544-445: The designation overseas regions dates only to the 2003 constitutional change; indeed, the new wording of the constitution aims to give no precedence to either appellation overseas department or overseas region , although the second is still virtually unused by French media. The following have overseas region status: General: Administrative divisions of France The administrative divisions of France are concerned with

576-539: The earliest recorded settlers of the region were the Gauls (Celts). Cities such as Lyon were founded by them and the region traded with both northern and southern Europe. Most of the area became part of Roman territory during the invasion of Celtic Gaul led by Julius Caesar and was at various times part of the regions of Lugdunensis and Gallia. Lyon itself became a major city in the Roman Empire . The region, excepting Savoy,

608-437: The east of the region the food has an Alpine flavour with dishes such as fondue , raclette common, gratin dauphinois and gratin savoyard. The region is also famous for its Bresse poultry and the many varieties of cheese including Tomme de Savoie , Bleu de Bresse , Reblochon , Saint-Marcellin and Vacherin du Haut-Doubs . Wines in this region include Beaujolais , Côtes du Rhône and Savoy wine . Chartreuse liqueur

640-438: The fifth. In 2014, the French parliament passed a law reducing the number of metropolitan regions from 22 to 13 effective 1 January 2016. The law gave interim names for most of the new regions by combining the names of the former regions, e.g. the region composed of Aquitaine , Poitou-Charentes and Limousin was temporarily called Aquitaine-Limousin-Poitou-Charentes . However, the combined region of Upper and Lower Normandy

672-450: The heads of wealthy regions such as Île-de-France or Rhône-Alpes can be high-profile positions. Proposals to give regions limited legislative autonomy have met with considerable resistance; others propose transferring certain powers from the departments to their respective regions, leaving the former with limited authority. Number of regions controlled by each coalition since 1986 . Overseas region ( French : Région d'outre-mer )

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704-476: The institutional and territorial organization of French territory. These territories are located in many parts of the world. There are many administrative divisions, which may have political ( local government ), electoral (districts), or administrative (decentralized services of the state) objectives. All the inhabited territories are represented in the National Assembly , Senate and Economic and Social Council and their citizens have French citizenship and elect

736-533: The largest ski area in the world , Rhône-Alpes is the second most important golfing region in France with over 60 courses. Enthusiasts of art and culture will not be disappointed by the region's Villes d’Art: Lyon, which is classified by UNESCO as a World Heritage site, Annecy, Grenoble, Chambéry, and Saint-Étienne. Lyon is noted as a gastronomic centre of France and specialities served in its traditional bouchons include Lyon sausage , sophisticated salami (known there as " rosette "), tripe and quenelles . In

768-459: The population of metropolitan France living in them. These intercommunal structures are: Five overseas regions ( régions d'outre-mer , or ROM), which have the same status as metropolitan regions. The overseas regions are as follows: The French Republic includes five overseas collectivities ( collectivités d'outre-mer , or COM) with a semi-autonomous status: The French Republic includes one autonomous collectivity : New Caledonia's status

800-633: The region comprises the river valleys of the Rhône and the Saône . The confluence of these two rivers is at Lyon. The western part of the region contains the start of the Massif Central mountain range. The region also borders or contains major lakes such as Lake Geneva ( Lac Léman ) and Lake Annecy . The Ardèche flows through the southwest portion of the region, where it has carved the deepest gorge in Europe. As with

832-799: The region level. The exceptions are Corsica, French Guiana , Mayotte and Martinique , where region and department functions are managed by single local governments having consolidated jurisdiction and which are known as single territorial collectivities . The term région was officially created by the Law of Decentralisation (2 March 1982), which also gave regions their legal status. The first direct elections for regional representatives took place on 16 March 1986. Between 1982 and 2015, there were 22 regions in Metropolitan France. Before 2011, there were four overseas regions ( French Guiana , Guadeloupe , Martinique , and Réunion ); in 2011 Mayotte became

864-489: The regions). New Caledonia is unique as it is not a territorial collectivity. Citizens from all parts of France, including the overseas administrative divisions, vote in national elections ( presidential , legislative ), and all of the collectivities are represented in the Senate . Some areas are the clear responsibility of one level of government (e.g. the state is responsible for international issues), but in other areas it

896-729: The rest of France, French is the only official language of the region. Until the mid-20th century, Arpitan was widely spoken in the whole region, while many of the inhabitants of the south spoke varieties of Occitan ; both are in steep decline in this region. There are immigrant populations from Armenia, Italy, North Africa, Poland and Portugal, and elsewhere. Rhône-Alpes is made up of the following departments : And, since 2015, Metropolis with territorial collectivity statute: There are six main lakes in Rhône-Alpes: Prefectures listed in descending order of size: Although there have been people in Rhône-Alpes since pre-historic times,

928-501: The sea. The E15 Euroroute ( Britain to Spain) runs through the region. There are international airports at Lyon, Grenoble and Saint-Étienne and many other minor airports and airfields. The region is also a transport hub for the rail network with the TGV running through Lyon from Paris and the north, to the Mediterranean. A high-speed rail link is planned from Lyon to Turin . Rhône-Alpes

960-490: Was an important sector, particularly around Saint-Étienne , although this has declined since the 1970s. The area of the region that lies close to Switzerland has an economy linked to that of Geneva . This area forms a hinterland for the Geneva hub. The Triangle of Lyon , Saint-Étienne and Grenoble contribute a GDP of €145 billion to the region. Add Valence to it, it is almost €150 billion. In addition, Lyon alone has

992-642: Was part of the Merovingian and Carolingian Kingdoms before becoming a royal territory under the Capetians. As it became a royal territory early on in French history, its cultural, political and economic influences and developments paralleled those of greater France. (See History of France .) Rhône-Alpes is a major European transit hub, linking northern France and Europe to the Mediterranean area. Millions travel along its motorways in summertime from Paris to holidays at

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1024-566: Was simply called "Normandy" ( Normandie ). Permanent names were proposed by the new regional councils by 1 July 2016 and new names confirmed by the Conseil d'État by 30 September 2016. The legislation defining the new regions also allowed the Centre region to officially change its name to " Centre-Val de Loire " with effect from January 2015. Two regions, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and Bourgogne-Franche-Comté , opted to retain their interim names. Given below

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