Language/French/Culture/French-territories

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French Territories

Introduction[edit | edit source]

France is not just France. There are also many oversea regions, covering 5 continents and tens of time zones. You probably don't know them, but, even these regions are quite autonomous, they are entirely part of France.

Consider broadening your understanding by checking out these related lessons: French Culture → French History and Society → Major Events in ..., French Culture and Arts: French Cuisine and Gastronomy, French Cinema and Literature & St Pierre and Miquelon Timeline.

Metropolitan France[edit | edit source]

Metropolitan France is de facto including 96 '

départements' and 22 regions, but officially 13 since 2016 that not many people consider. The 22 regions are :

  • Aquitaine, Poitou-Charentes, Limousin which have merged into Nouvelle-Aquitaine (South-West)
  • Languedoc-Roussillon, Midi-Pyrénées which have merged into Occitanie (South-Center)
  • Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur (South-East)
  • Auvergne, Rhône-Alpes which merged into Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (East-Center)
  • Corsica (Extreme South-East, the only region which is an island)
  • Burgundy, Franche-Comté which merged into Burgundy-Franche-Comté (East-Center)
  • Centre, renamed into Centre-Val-de-Loire (Center)
  • Pays-de-la-Loire (West-Center)
  • Brittany (North-West)
  • Île-de-France (Center, region of Paris)
  • Lower Normandy and Higher Normandy which have merged into Normandy (North-Center)
  • Champagne-Ardenne, Lorraine and Alsace which have merged into Grand Est (North-East)
  • Nord-Pas-de-Calais, Picardy which have merged into Hauts-de-France (North)

Overseas 'départements'[edit | edit source]

There are actually 6 overseas 'départements', 4 in America and 2 in Africa. Their particularity is that they are both regions and 'départements'. They have more autonomy than the 'départements' of the Metropolitan France but lesser than the French overseas territories. They are :

America[edit | edit source]

  • Guadeloupe : An island between Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea, and next to Martinique.
  • Martinique : An island between Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea, and next to Guadeloupe.
  • Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon : A very small land near Atlantic Ocean and Québec Province in Canada.
  • French Guyana : The biggest French 'département', where the European Lancement Rocket Base is located. It makes France have common borders with Brazil and Surinam.

Africa[edit | edit source]

  • Réunion : A volcanic island, the most populated of French overseas 'départements', with around 1M inhabitants, located next to Madagascar and Mayotte.
  • Mayotte : A small island located next to Madagascar and La Réunion.

Overseas territories[edit | edit source]

There are many French overseas territories, located all over the world. They are :

  • Saint-Barthélémy and Saint-Martin, two islands next to Caribbean Sea. Saint-Martin is split into 2 countries : the North belongs to France and the South to the Netherlands.
  • Clipperton, an uninhabited island, 4000km far from the nearest inhabited place, in Pacific Ocean. It expands the French EEZ.
  • French Polynesia, in the Pacific Ocean, is the hugest French archipelago including hundreds of islands. It has its own government but belongs to France. The main island is Tahiti.
  • Wallis and Futuna, 2 small islands located in the Pacific Ocean.
  • New Caledonia, a big island next to Vanuatu and Australia. A referendum for independance has been voted in 2017, but people mostly said 'no'.

TAAF[edit | edit source]

The 'Terres australes et antarctiques françaises' (French Austral and Antarctic Territories) are 5 lands, islands or archipelagos next to Indian Ocean, inhabited by a total of 140 people, but giving to France an EEZ of 2,7M square kilometres. They are :

  • Crozet Archipelago (18 inhabitants) is an island next to Antarctica.
  • Terre Adélie is a territory in Antarctica which is almost as big as Metropolitan France, and on which are living around scientists.
  • Kerguelen Islands are inhabited by around 50 people and are located next to Antarctica.
  • Saint-Paul and the New-Amsterdam are 2 islands in the Indian Ocean inhabited by around 30 people.
  • 'Les îles Éparses' are 5 uninhabited islands between Mozambique and Madagascar.

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