Territorial Collectivity - Other Facts

Other Facts

• New Caledonia is the only French local government that is not a collectivité territoriale. It has its own articles in the French constitution. Since it cannot be categorized, it sometimes unofficially is called a collectivité sui generis, but "collectivity" is not strictly-speaking a legal category. It is sometimes unofficially called a pays (d'outre-mer) because its local legislative assembly (the congress) can rule using its own lois du pays.
• Corsica is the only collectivité territoriale that belongs to no category, but its status is very close to that of régions.
• The régions and Corsica are divided into départements ; ROMs are divided into DOMs ; New Caledonia is divided into provinces ; départements, COMs (except Saint-Barthelemy, Saint-Martin and Wallis and Futuna), DOMs and provinces all are divided into communes.
• The commune of Poya is the only territorial entity belonging to two upper entities (provinces North and South).
• Paris, French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Mayotte, and La Réunion are the only territorial entities belonging to two categories. Paris is both a département and a commune, and the others are both ROM and DOM. Paris therefore has one single president and one single assembly, while ROM / DOM each have two presidents and two assemblies.
• Each COM has its own statutory law that gives it a particular designation (French Polynesia is designated as a pays d'outre-mer, Saint-Barthelemy and Saint-Martin as collectivités, Saint-Pierre and Miquelon as a collectivité territoriale, and Wallis and Futuna as a territoire).