from
Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman
behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com
The 22 regions of France until 31-12-2015.
Photograph courtesy of cefi.org
The new administrative regions of mainland France since 1-1-2016.
There are now thirteen administrative regions.
Photograph courtesy of www.France-pub.com
The internal borders, on the mainland map of France, are changing. There is some possibility of confusion where old maps and or guide books are used; however, that should not seriously affect the visitor. When traveling around France and looking for addresses the names of France’s departments are more important, and they remain unchanged.
From 1st January 2016 from 22 departments in mainland France, including the island of Corsica, the number of regions has been reduced to 13. These 13 are France's new super regions. In certain administrative and geographic forms, a French region is similar to a US State or UK County, and the reduction will diminish the number of officials with their separate bureaucracies. Hopefully, this will create savings for the French taxpayer and reduce the government’s bureaucratic contact with its citizens.
What is a French Administrative Region?
From 1st January 2016 from 22 departments in mainland France, including the island of Corsica, the number of regions has been reduced to 13. These 13 are France's new super regions. In certain administrative and geographic forms, a French region is similar to a US State or UK County, and the reduction will diminish the number of officials with their separate bureaucracies. Hopefully, this will create savings for the French taxpayer and reduce the government’s bureaucratic contact with its citizens.
In this post are the new mainland region’s names and the names of the old regions they include. I have also used the names they have chosen, and they will be confirmed by the central government by the end of October 2016; I do not expect any changes. The borders of the other six mainland departments and France’s five overseas departments are unchanged.
Until last week all my posts in this blog and in my book used the old names. It will take quite a while to go through all those posts and make changes in the book as well, but it will be done.
The old regions: The new region's names:
Strasbourg in the department of Bas-Rhin is the regional
capital.
capital.
The meaning of the Grande Est is the “Great East.”
Grande is a reference to the region’s importance
and East to its position in the North-East of France.
The new super-region of the Grande Est.
Photograph courtesy of latribune.fr
Nord-Pas-de-Calais and Picardie become: Hauts de France
Lille in the department of Nord and is the regional capital.
The meaning of Haute de France is
"The Heights of France." A reference to the region’s
importance and position in the North of France.
The new super region of the Hauts-de-France.
Photograph courtesy of leparisien.fr
Haute Normandie and Basse Normandie become: Normandie
Rouen in the department of Seine-Maritime is the
regional capital.
regional capital.
Most visitors will hardly notice this change, the two regions of
Haute Normandie and Bass Normandie have become one.
The new super-region of Normandie.
Photograph courtesy of linkparis.co
Toulouse in the department of Haute-Garonne is the
regional capital.
regional capital.
The name Occitanie points to the historical country of Occitania
and the language of Occitan. When the French Kings
searched for a single language to unite France, there
were two languages in contention D’oc and its
dialects and D'oï and its dialects. D’oc indicated the language of Occitan
and D’ouil indicated the language of Paris and the areas round about.
D’oil, the language of Paris won out but still today there are
millions of Frenchmen and Frenchwomen who know or speak
some Occitan or where Occitan is the language behind
some Occitan or where Occitan is the language behind
their local dialect. Provencal is an example of a dialect of Occitan.
Clearly, a single language is vital to rule a country. A the time of the
French revolution only 50% of the population spoke
French. By 1914 most of the population understood French
even if at home they spoke one of over 50 local languages
and dialects. Today every high school graduate speak excellent French.
In one or two generations most of the local languages and
dialects will be restricted to those who have studied them
in the universities. Many groups are working to keep the old
languages alive but their's is not an easy task.
dialects will be restricted to those who have studied them
in the universities. Many groups are working to keep the old
languages alive but their's is not an easy task.
The new super-region of Occitanie
Photograph courtesy of francebleu
Aquitaine, Limousin and Poitou-Charentes become: Nouvelle Aquitaine
The new super-region of Nouvelle Aquitaine.
Photograph courtesy of France-pub.cpm
Auvergne and the Rhone Alps become: Auvergne- Rhône-Alpes
Lyon in the department of Rhône is the regional capital.
The new super region of Auvergne-Rhone Alps.
Photograph courtesy of chrisodile.eu
The new super-region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté.
Photograph courtesy of lpe-asso.org
The Unchanged Regions:
Bretagne (Brittany).
Rennes in the department of Ille-et-Vilaine is the
regional capital.
regional capital.
Centre- Val de Loire (This department did not change its borders,
it just changed its name from Centre to Centre -Val de Loire
it just changed its name from Centre to Centre -Val de Loire
Orleans in the department of Loiret is the
regional capital.
regional capital.
Corse (Corsica).
Ajacio in the department of Corse-du-Sud is the
regional capital.
regional capital.
Pays de la Loire
France’s overseas regions/departments are unchanged.
Guyane (French Guiana )
On the Atlantic coast of South America just above Brazil.
Cayenne is the regional capital.
Guadeloupe a group of islands in the Caribbean.
Basse-Terre is the regional capital.
Martinique an island the Caribbean
Fort-de-France is the regional capital.
Mayotte is composed of two islands in the Indian Ocean
Mamoudzou is the regional capital.
Réunion is an Island in the Indian Ocean.
Saint-Denis is the regional capital.
What are the French “Regions”
France administers the lives of its citizens both directly and indirectly through its “regions.” Regions can be thought of Countrywide geographical divisions dividing the country in a somewhat similar way to States in the USA and Counties in the UK. Each French Region administers its own area through "departments." While certain regions on the map of mainland are France changing, the names of France’s departments have not changed. On maps and websites departments are more important, they are more likely to tell you where you.
What are the French departments
France’s regions are divided into 101 Departments. Departments and regions were created during the revolution in the 1790’s to break up unmanageable areas, or huge landholdings called provinces. Only a few changes have been made since then. The departments are managed by the regions.
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Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman
behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com
Copyright 2010,2016.
