All of the thirteen metropolitan administrative regions (includingCorsica as of 2019[update]) are further subdivided into two to thirteen administrativedepartments, with theprefect 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 regionalterritorial collectivities, which comes with alocal government, with departmental and communal collectivities below the regional level. The exceptions are Corsica,French Guiana,Mayotte andMartinique, where region and department functions are managed by single local governments having consolidated jurisdiction and which are known assingle territorial collectivities.
The termrégion was officially created by theLaw 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.[2]
In 2014, the French parliament passed a law reducing the number of metropolitan regions from 22 to 13 effective 1 January 2016.[5]
The law gave interim names for most of the new regions by combining the names of the former regions, e.g. the region composed ofAquitaine,Poitou-Charentes andLimousin was temporarily calledAquitaine-Limousin-Poitou-Charentes. However, the combined region of Upper and Lower Normandy was simply called "Normandy" (Normandie). Permanent names were proposed by the new regional councils by 1 July 2016 and new names confirmed by theConseil d'État by 30 September 2016.[6][7] 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.[8] Two regions,Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes andBourgogne-Franche-Comté, opted to retain their interim names.[9][10]
Overview of merger proposals for the metropolitan territory
Regions lack separate legislative authority and therefore cannot write their own statutory law. They levy their own taxes and, in return, receive a decreasing[clarification needed] 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 aregional council(conseil régional) made up of representatives voted into office in regional elections.
A region's primary responsibility 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 the heads of wealthy regions such asÎle-de-France orRhône-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.
Although these territories have had these political powers since 1982, when France'sdecentralisation policy dictated that they be given electedregional councils along with other regional powers, the designationoverseas regions dates only to the 2003 constitutional change; indeed, the new wording of the constitution aims to give no precedence to either appellationoverseas department oroverseas region, although the second is still virtually unused by French media.
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