Editing Urban secession (section)

===Europe===
The [[Brussels capital region]], a densely built-up area consisting of 19 communes including the capital city [[Brussels]], became one of [[Belgium]]'s three [[Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium|regions]] after the country was turned into a federation in 1970. (In Belgium there are special circumstances due to the country's language communities.)

In [[Bulgaria]] the capital [[Sofia]] is an [[Provinces of Bulgaria|oblast]] of its own - [[Sofia#Administration|Sofia-grad]], while the surrounding area is divided between the [[Pernik Province|Pernik Oblast]] and the [[Sofia Province|Sofia Oblast]].

[[Madrid]] has its own [[Autonomous communities of Spain|autonomous region]], including a [[Assembly of Madrid|regional parliament]] even though Spain is a [[unitary state]].

[[Paris]] and the [[Lyon Metropolis]] are their own [[Departments of France|departments]] in France.

The capital city of [[Bucharest]] is also a [[Counties of Romania|county]] within [[Romania]].

[[Moscow]] and [[Saint Petersburg]], the biggest cities in [[Russia]], have a ''[[Federal cities of Russia|federal city]]'' status. Following the 2014 [[annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation]], the city of [[Sevastopol]] is also administered as a federal city, though [[Ukraine]] and most of the UN member countries continue to regard Sevastopol as a [[city with special status]] within Ukraine.

In the United Kingdom, [[London secessionism]] has gathered momentum<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/wouldnt-you-prefer-to-be-president-sadiq-thousands-back-campaign-for-sadiq-khan-to-declare-londons-a3280141.html|title=Thousands call on Sadiq Khan to declare London's independence|date=24 June 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/londependence-petition-calls-for-london-to-join-the-eu-on-its-own-a7101006.html|title='Londependence' petition calls for London to join the EU on its own|date=24 June 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/one-in-five-londoners-want-capital-to-split-from-rest-of-uk-and-become-independent-9722652.html |title='One in five Londoners want the capital to become independent' |last=Moore-Bridger |first=Benedict |date=10 September 2014 |publisher=Evening Standard |access-date=31 March 2017 |quote=19.9 per cent of the 2,001 people surveyed agree[d] it [London] would be better off as its own country.}}</ref> following the [[Brexit referendum]], when the UK as a whole voted to leave the European Union, but [[Greater London]], which is its own region (unlike other urban areas in the UK), voted to remain in the EU.

====German-speaking countries====
In [[Germany]] there are two cities — [[Berlin]] and [[Hamburg]] — that are [[States of Germany|Bundesländer]] in themselves (thus, they are city-states within a federal system). The [[Bremen (state)|Free Hanseatic City of Bremen]] is also a city-state, comprising two cities: [[Bremen]] and [[Bremerhaven]]. At the [[Districts of Germany|district]] level, many large and medium-sized cities form their own ''district-free cities'' (German: ''Kreisfreie Städte'').

The city of [[Vienna]] is a [[States of Austria|federal state]] within the [[Republic of Austria]]. As in Germany, many large and medium-sized cities in Austria are separate from the regular [[District (Austria)|districts]], instead forming their own ''statutory cities'' (German: ''Statutarstädte'').

One of the [[cantons of Switzerland]], [[Basel-Stadt]], is a city-state.