Commune in France

The commune (in French: commune, word appeared in the 12th century, from Medieval Latin communia, gathering of people sharing a common life, from Latin communis, things held in common) is the lowest level of administrative division in the French Republic. French communes are roughly equivalent to US incorporated municipalities/cities. French communes have no equivalent in the United Kingdom.

Miscellaneous facts

Most and least populous communes

• The most populous commune of the French Republic is the commune of Paris: 2,125,246 inhabitants in March 1999.
• There are six communes in the French Republic with no inhabitants at all. These six communes are on the battlefield of Verdun: Beaumont-en-Verdunois, Bezonvaux, Haumont-près-Samogneux, Louvemont-Côte-du-Poivre, Cumières-le-Mort-Homme, and Fleury-devant-Douaumont. These villages were completely destroyed during the gruesome Battle of Verdun in 1916: the land received so many shells that the area had become almost lunar, totally unrecognizable. After the war it was decided that these villages would not be rebuilt. The communes were maintained as a testimony of these villages which "died for France", as they were officially titled. These dead communes are each administered by a municipal council of three members appointed by the prefect of the Meuse département.
• Apart from these special cases, the communes with the least inhabitants in the French Republic are:
• commune of Rochefourchat, in the foothills of the French Alps, one inhabitant at 1999 census (a 38-year-old divorced man).
• commune of Leménil-Mitry, in the woodlands of Lorraine in eastern France, two inhabitants at 1999 census (a 42-year-old man and his 38-year-old wife, him being the owner of all the estates in the commune, descending from the family of the local lords).
• commune of Rouvroy-Ripont, near the Champagne area, two inhabitants at 1999 census (an unmarried 60-year-old man, and an unmarried 73-year-old man).

Largest and smallest commune territories

• The largest commune of the French Republic is Maripasoula (3,710 inhabitants) in the département of French Guiana: 18,360 km² (7,089 sq. miles).
• In metropolitan France the largest commune is the commune of Arles (50,513 inhabitants) near Marseilles, the territory of which encompasses most of the delta of the Rhone River: 759 km² (293 sq. miles), or 8.7 times the area of the city of Paris (excluding the outlying parks of Bois de Boulogne and Bois de Vincennes).
• The smallest commune of the French Republic is Castelmoron-d'Albret (62 inhabitants) near Bordeaux: 0.0376 km² (0.0145 sq. miles or 9.3 acres).

Most elevated commune

The most elevated commune of the French Republic (and of Europe) is Saint-Véran (267 inhabitants), in the French Alps: the altitude of the village is between 1,990 meters (6,529 feet) and 2,040 meters (6,693 feet) above sea level.

Related Topics:
Saint-Véran - Alps

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Communes furthest away from the capital city of France

• The commune of the French Republic furthest away from Paris is the commune of Île-des-Pins (1,671 inhabitants) in New Caledonia: 16,841 km. (10,465 miles) from the center of Paris.
• In continental France (i.e. European France excluding Corsica), the communes furthest away from Paris are Coustouges (134 inhabitants) and Lamanère (44 inhabitants) at the Spanish border: both at 721 km. (448 miles) from the center of Paris as the crow flies.

Shortest and longest commune names

• The commune of the French Republic with the shortest name is the commune of Y (89 inhabitants).
• There are three communes in the French Republic which have the longest name (38 letters):
• commune of Saint-Germain-de-Tallevende-la-Lande-Vaumont (1731 inhabitants)
• commune of Saint-Remy-en-Bouzemont-Saint-Genest-et-Isson (592 inhabitants)
• commune of Beaujeu-Saint-Vallier-Pierrejux-et-Quitteur (739 inhabitants).

Names of communes other than in French

Names of French communes are normally in French. In areas where other languages than French were spoken, the names have been turned into French, such as Toulouse (formerly Tolosa in Occitan), Strasbourg (formerly Straßburg in German), or Perpignan (formerly Perpinyà in Catalan). However, many smaller communes have retained their native name. Here are examples of retained names in the languages once spoken, or still spoken, on the territory of the French Republic:

Related Topics:
French - Toulouse - Occitan - Strasbourg - German - Perpignan - Catalan

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• German: e.g. commune of Mittelhausbergen (1,680 inhabitants).
• Dutch: e.g. commune of Steenvoorde (4,024 inhabitants).
• Breton: e.g. commune of Kermoroc?h (324 inhabitants).
• Occitan: e.g. commune of Belcastel (251 inhabitants).
• Basque: e.g. commune of Ustaritz (4,984 inhabitants).
• Catalan: e.g. commune of Banyuls-dels-Aspres (1,007 inhabitants).
• Corsican: e.g. commune of San-Gavino-di-Carbini (738 inhabitants).
• Comorian: e.g. commune of M?Tsangamouji (5,382 inhabitants).
• Polynesian: e.g. commune of Hitiaa O Te Ra (8,286 inhabitants).
• several Austronesian languages of New Caledonia: e.g. commune of Kouaoua (1,524 inhabitants).
• several American Indian languages: e.g. commune of Kourou (19,107 inhabitants).