Cercle (French colonial) would still fall under the Indigénat. The "Lamine Guèye law" of 7 April 1946 formally extended citizenship across the empire, indigènes included. Third, the law of 20 September 1947 removed the two tier court system and mandated equal access to public employment. Reduced to a political subdivision roughly equivalent to a French department and stripped of the personal power of the Cercle Commander system, the Cercle name retained enough imperial connotations to be changed by most nations upon independence to Departments or Sub-Prefectures. Mali is the only nation in Sub-Saharan Africa to retain the name Cercle for its second level
French Sudan The area was "Upper River" from 1880 until 18 August 1890, when it was renamed "French Sudan", with its capital at Kayes. On 10 October 1899, French Sudan was divided, with the southern cercles joining coastal colonies, and the rest split into two administrative areas called "Middle Niger" and "Upper Senegal". In 1902, the region again was organized as a unified colony under the name Senegambia and Niger ("Sénégambie et Niger"). The name changed again in 1904 to Upper Senegal and Niger ("Haut Sénégal et Niger"). Finally, in 1921, the name changed back to "French Sudan" ("Soudan Français"). Borders and