The region covers an area of 47,783 km2 (18,449 sq mi) and eightdepartments; it had a population of 2,811,423 in 2017.[4] Itsprefecture and largest city isDijon, although theregional council sits inBesançon, making Bourgogne-Franche-Comté one of two regions in France (along withNormandy) in which theprefect does not sit in the same city as the regional council.
The text of the territorial reform law gives interim names for most of the merged regions, combining the names of their constituent regions separated by hyphens. Permanent names would be proposed by the new regional councils and confirmed by theConseil d'État by 1 October 2016.[5] Hence the interim name of the new administrative region is composed of the names of former administrative regions ofBurgundy andFranche-Comté. The region chose to retain its interim name as its permanent name, a decision made official by the Conseil d'État on 28 September 2016.[6]
The territory that is now Burgundy and Franche-Comté was already united under theKingdom of Burgundy (from the 5th to the 8th century). It was divided into two parts: theDuchy of Burgundy (now Burgundy) of France, and theCounty of Burgundy (now Franche-Comté) of theHoly Roman Empire. The County was reintegrated as a free province within theKingdom of France in the 17th century, separately from the Duchy which remained a vassal province of the Kingdom of France. These two former provinces were abolished during theFrench Revolution.
Most of the area making up the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté used to belong to the former provinces ofBurgundy andFranche-Comté, but it also includes a significant part of the former provinces ofNivernais (nowNièvre),Champagne (now the northern part ofYonne),Orléanais (now the southwestern part ofYonne), theTerritoire de Belfort (the region ofAlsace that remained French territory after1871) and a small portion ofÎle-de-France (now the northwestern part ofYonne).
On 14 April 2014,François Patriat andMarie-Guite Dufay (the presidents ofBurgundy andFranche-Comté, respectively) announced in a press conference the desire for the merger of the two regions, further to the declarations of Prime MinisterManuel Valls, who proposed a simplification of theadministrative divisions of France. On 2 June 2014 a map presented by PresidentFrançois Hollande showed the two regions as one. These two regions were the only ones to have voluntarily discussed a merger, and their alliance was the only one not needing revision by theNational Assembly or theSenate.
Acte III de la décentralisation officially adopted the merger of the two regions on 17 December 2014. It became effective on 1 January 2016.
The gross domestic product (GDP) of the region was €75.6 billion in 2018, accounting for 3.2% of the total economic output of France. GDP per capita adjusted for purchasing power was €24,200 or 80% of the European Union average in the same year. The GDP per employee was 96% of the EU average.[9]
