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 county 1 October 1973. Section 131 of the Local Government Act (Northern Ireland) 1972 stated that ""every county and every county borough shall cease to be an administrative area for local government purposes"". The areas of the former administrative counties (and county boroughs) remain in use for Lieutenancy purposes, being defined as the areas used ""for local government purposes immediately before 1 October 1973, subject to any subsequent definition of their boundaries..."". In the Republic of Ireland the legislation that created them remained in force until the Local Government Act 2001 was passed, which renamed them 'counties'. The administrative counties that