Departments of France France: Notes for Table 7: 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"
Administrative counties of Ireland county boroughs), while the Irish Free State had 30 administrative counties (including four county boroughs). The administrative counties of Northern Ireland were abandoned as local government areas by the Local Government Act (Northern Ireland) 1972. The Act came into effect in 1973. Galway city become a county borough in 1986. In 1994 the administrative county of Dublin was abolished and its area was divided into three parts for the purposes of local government: Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, Fingal and South Dublin. In the Republic of Ireland, the 1898 Act was replaced by the Local Government Act 2001, which came into operation on