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 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