France arrondissements, which are, in turn, subdivided into 2,054 cantons. These cantons are then divided into 36,658 communes, which are municipalities with an elected municipal council. Three communes—Paris, Lyon and Marseille—are subdivided into 45 municipal arrondissements. The regions, departments and communes are all known as territorial collectivities, meaning they possess local assemblies as well as an executive. Arrondissements and cantons are merely administrative divisions. However, this was not always the case. Until 1940, the arrondissements were territorial collectivities with an elected assembly, but these were suspended by the Vichy regime and definitely abolished by the Fourth Republic in 1946. In addition
Administrative county Wales were introduced in their place. Though strictly inaccurate, these are often called 'administrative counties' to distinguish them from both the historic counties, and the ceremonial counties. In Scotland they were never established as separate entities as they were in England and Wales. For local government purposes Scottish counties were replaced in 1975 with a system of regions and island council areas. The Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898 created administrative counties in Ireland on the same model that had been used in England and Wales. In Northern Ireland the administrative counties were replaced by a system of 26 districts on