The commune (kɔmyn) is a level of administrative division in the French Republic. French communes are analogous to civil townships and incorporated municipalities in the United States and Canada, Gemeinden in Germany, comuni in Italy, or municipios in Spain. The UK equivalent are civil parishes. Communes are based on historical geographic communities or villages and are vested with significant powers to manage the populations and land of the geographic area covered. The communes are the fourth-level administrative divisions of France.
Communes vary widely in size and area, from large sprawling cities with millions of inhabitants like Paris, to small hamlets with only a handful of inhabitants. Communes typically are based on pre-existing villages and facilitate local governance. All communes have names, but not all named geographic areas or groups of people residing together are communes ("lieu dit" or "bourg"), the difference residing in the lack of administrative powers. Except for the municipal arrondissements of its largest cities, the communes are the lowest level of administrative division in France and are governed by elected officials including a mayor (maire) and a municipal council (conseil municipal). They have extensive autonomous powers to implement national policy.
A commune is the smallest and oldest administrative division in France. "Commune" in English has a historical association with socialist and collectivist political movements and philosophies. This association arises in part from the rising of the Paris Commune (1871) which could have more felicitously been called, in English, "the rising of the City of Paris". There is nothing intrinsically different between "town" in English and commune in French.
The French word commune appeared in the 12th century, from Medieval Latin communia, for a large gathering of people sharing a common life; from Latin communis, 'things held in common'.
As of January 2021, there were 35,083 communes in France, of which 34,836 in metropolitan France, 129 in the overseas departments and 83 in the overseas collectivities and New Caledonia.
This page is automatically generated and may contain information that is not correct, complete, up-to-date, or relevant to your search query. The same applies to every other page on this website. Please make sure to verify the information with EPFL's official sources.
An arrondissement (aʁɔ̃dismɑ̃) is a level of administrative division in France generally corresponding to the territory overseen by a subprefect. , the 101 French departments were divided into 332 arrondissements (including 12 overseas). An additional arrondissement was established in 2022 in French Guiana, bringing the total to 333 with 13 overseas. The capital of an arrondissement is called a subprefecture. When an arrondissement contains the prefecture (capital) of the department, that prefecture is the capital of the arrondissement, acting both as a prefecture and as a subprefecture.
The Montgolfier brothers – Joseph-Michel Montgolfier (ʒozɛf miʃɛl mɔ̃ɡɔlfje; 26 August 1740 – 26 June 1810) and Jacques-Étienne Montgolfier (ʒak etjɛn mɔ̃ɡɔlfje; 6 January 1745 – 2 August 1799) – were aviation pioneers, balloonists and paper manufacturers from the commune Annonay in Ardèche, France. They invented the Montgolfière-style hot air balloon, globe aérostatique, which launched the first confirmed piloted ascent by humans in 1783, carrying Jacques-Étienne.
France (fʁɑ̃s), officially the French Republic (République française ʁepyblik fʁɑ̃sɛz), is a country located primarily in Western Europe. It also includes overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans, giving it one of the largest discontiguous exclusive economic zones in the world. Its metropolitan area extends from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean and from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea; overseas territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the North Atlantic, the French West Indies, and many islands in Oceania and the Indian Ocean.
"To be useful, helpful, of assistance to someone:" The "In Service Of: Marseille" studio reflects on the architectural project as a form of public service. It explores how architecture and design can
"To be useful, helpful, of assistance to someone:" The "In Service Of: Marseille" studio reflects on the architectural project as a form of public service. It explores how architecture and design can
The course traces the recurring reemergence of a rational approach in design and building form throughout the history of Western architecture, from the Middle Ages to the late 20th century.
As oil consumption surged in Western Europe after 1945, its environmental and sanitary consequences became visible to consumers for whom they had remained largely hidden until then. Indeed, refineries had long been located in the producing countries or, in ...
Ce travail fait suite à l’énoncé théorique intitulé La montagne en métamorphose, ou comment une vallée de montagne s’est développée au contact des étrangers. Retraçant l’évolution de la vallée du Trient à travers le prisme des regards indigènes et étranger ...
La réhabilitation des immeubles de logement de la fin du XIXe siècle et du début du XXe siècle constitue une part importante de la pratique architecturale. Considérés individuellement, ces bâtiments pourraient apparaître ordinaires; appréciés dans leur ens ...