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Provinces of France

(Redirected from Province of France)

The Kingdom of France was organized into provinces until March 4, 1790, when the establishment of the département system superseded provinces. The change was an attempt to eradicate local loyalties based on feudal ownership of land and focus all loyalty on the central government in Paris.

The names of the former provinces are still used by geographers to designate natural regions, and several French administrative regions carry their names.

Table of contents

The meaning of "province"

French départments, their names, and their borders were chosen by the central government. In contrast, the existence of provinces came from the droit coutumier ("customary law") and was merely certified by the state. A province, also called a pays ("country"), was characterized by the laws that belonged to it. A province itself could encompass several other provinces. For example, Burgundy was a province but Bresse — another province — was nevertheless a part of Burgundy.

There is therefore no official list of provinces. The list of généralités, administrative subdivisions of the kingdom, is often presented when one wants to establish the list of provinces on the eve of the French Revolution. The list below is much larger, encompassing provinces throughout French history.

List of former provinces of France

Provinces

Pre-Republican provinces of France, with provincial capitals marked. Listed as English name (capital).
  1. Île-de-France (Paris)
  2. Berry (Bourges)
  3. Orléanais (Orléans)
  4. Normandy (Rouen)
  5. Languedoc (Toulouse)
  6. Lyonnais (Lyon)
  7. Dauphiné (Grenoble)
  8. Champagne (Troyes)
  9. Aunis (La Rochelle)
  10. Saintonge (Saintes)
  11. Poitou (Poitiers)
  12. Guyenne and Gascony (Bordeaux)
  13. Burgundy (Dijon)
  14. Picardy (Amiens)
  15. Anjou (Angers)
  16. Provence (Aix-en-Provence)
  1. Angoumois (Angoulême)
  2. Bourbonnais (Moulins)
  3. Marche (Guéret)
  4. Brittany (Rennes)
  5. Maine (Le Mans)
  6. Touraine (Tours)
  7. Limousin (Limoges)
  8. Foix (Foix)
  9. Auvergne (Clermont-Ferrand)
  10. Béarn (Pau)
  11. Alsace (Strasbourg)
  12. Artois (Arras)
  13. Roussillon (Perpignan)
  14. Flanders and Hainaut (Lille)
  15. Franche-Comté (Besançon)
  16. Lorraine, (Nancy)
  17. Corsica (off map, Ajaccio)
  18. Nivernais (Nevers)
  19. Comtat Venaissin, a Papal fief
  20. Imperial Free City of Mulhouse
  21. Savoy, a Sardinian fief
  22. Nice, a Sardinian fief
  23. Montbéliard, a fief of Württemberg (Montbéliard)

Parts of France in 1789

Provinces not part of France in 1789







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