Departments of France Departments of France In the administrative divisions of France, the department (, ) is one of the three levels of government below the national level ("territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the commune. Ninety-six departments are in metropolitan France, and five are overseas departments, which are also classified as regions. Departments are further subdivided into 334 arrondissements, themselves divided into cantons; the last two have no autonomy, and are used for the organisation of police, fire departments, and sometimes, elections. Each department is administered by an elected body called a departmental council ("conseil départemental" (sing.), "conseils départementaux" (plur.)). From
Administrative counties of England the administrative counties were abolished by the Local Government Act 1972 and replaced with the metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties of England. Administrative counties of England Administrative counties were a level of subnational division of England used for the purposes of local government from 1889 to 1974. They were created by the Local Government Act 1888 as the areas for which county councils were elected. Some large counties were divided into several administrative counties, each with its own county council. The administrative counties were abolished by the Local Government Act 1972 and were replaced by the metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties of