Editing Local government (section)

===France===
{{Main article|Decentralisation in France|Administrative divisions of France}}

According to its [[Constitution of France|Constitution]] of 1958, [[France]] has 3 levels of local government:
*13 ''Régions'' (including [[Corsica]]) and 5 ''Régions d'outre-mer'' ([[Réunion]], [[Martinique]], [[Mayotte]], [[Guadeloupe]] and [[French Guiana]]). Corsica is not referred to as a "région" but simply as a "collectivité territoriale", that merely means "local government area".
*96 ''[[Departments of France|départements]]'' and 5 ''[[Overseas department|départements d'outre-mer]]'' (Réunion, Guadeloupe, Martinique, [[Mayotte]] and French Guiana). [[Paris]] is both a commune and a département.
*There are 36,679 [[Communes of France|municipalities]] (in French: ''Communes'').

However, in addition to the constitutional clauses of 1958, there now exist specificities:
*Intercommunalities are now a level of government between municipalities and departments.
*There exist 2 "pays d'outre-mer": [[French Polynesia]] and [[New Caledonia]]. The expression "pays d'outre-mer" is convenient as it can be understood in French as both "overseas country" and "overseas county/traditional area" (as evidenced by [[Pays de la Loire]] that is a home région, not a home "country"). French Polynesia works as an autonomous ''région'', whereas New Caledonia has a ''sui generis'' local government status with specific institutions and even more autonomy.