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Metropolitan France (French: France métropolitaine or la Métropole) is the part of France in Europe, including Corsica (French: Corse). Overseas France (la France d'outre-mer) is the overseas departments and overseas territories (départements et territoires d'outre-mer or acronymically les DOM-TOM). In Overseas France, a person from Metropolitan France is often called a métro, short for métropolitain. ********************************* The départements d'outre-mer – for example, Martinique and Guadeloupe in the Caribbean – have the same political status as the départements métropolitains. ************************** As of January 1, 2007, 61,538,322 people lived in Metropolitan France, while 2,563,818 lived in Overseas France, for a total of 64,102,140 inhabitants in the French Republic. ***************************** Metropolitan France, excluding the island of Corsica, is referred to as Continental France (la France continentale), or just the Continent (le continent). In Corsica, people from Continental France are referred to as "Continentals" (les continentaux). *************************** A casual synonym for Continental France is l'Hexagone, from the roughly hexagonal shape it forms on a map.************As of January 1, 2006, metropolitan France is divided into: * 22 regions (although strictly speaking Corsica is in fact a "territorial collectivity", not a region, but is referred to as a region in common speech) * the regions are subdivided into 96 departments * the departments are in turn divided into 329 arrondissements * the arrondissements are then divided into 3,879 cantons * the cantons are subdivided into 36,571 communes (although some of the larger communes actually are composed of several cantons) * 3 communes (Paris, Marseille, and Lyon) are further divided into 45 municipal arrondissements * 730 associated communes (as of 2006): formerly separate communes which retained a limited degree of independence. Associated communes also exist outside of Metropolitan France, for example in French Polynesia. Furthermore, as of January 1, 2006, there exist 2,558 intercommunal structures grouping 32,826 communes (89.7% of all the communes of metropolitan France), with 51.98 million people inhabitants (85.7% of the population of metropolitan France). These intercommunal structures are: * 14 Urban communities * 158 Agglomeration communities * 2,380 Commune communities ***************************************** The French Republic is further made up of the following overseas administrative divisions: * 4 overseas regions: Guadeloupe, French Guiana, Martinique, and Réunion, which have the same status as metropolitan regions. The overseas regions are also classified as overseas departments, again with the same status as departments in metropolitan France. This double structure (region/department) is new, due to the recent extension of the regional scheme to the overseas departments, and may soon transform into a single structure, with the merger of the regional and departmental assemblies. * the overseas regions are subdivided into 13 arrondissements * the 13 arrondissements are further subdivided into 156 cantons * the 156 cantons are composed of 114 communes o this is because unlike in metropolitan France, many communes are divided into several cantons, except in large communes like Toulouse or Lille which are divided into several cantons) * Furthermore, as of January 1, 2006, there exist 15 intercommunal structures in the overseas departments, grouping 87 communes (76.3% of all the communes of the overseas departments), with 1.35 million inhabitants (78.7% of the population of these departments). These intercommunal structures are: * 6 Agglomeration communities * 9 Commune communities * 4 Overseas collectivities: French Polynesia, Mayotte, Saint-Pierre and Miquelon and Wallis and Futuna * French Polynesia (designated as a "overseas country") is divided into 5 administrative subdivisions. For elections it is divided into 6 electoral districts which differ slightly from the 5 administrative subdivisions. The 5 administrative subdivisions are divided into 48 communes. * Mayotte (designated as a "departmental collectivity" is divided into 17 communes with no arrondissements. Cantons are the same as communes in Mayotte. * Saint-Pierre and Miquelon is divided into 2 communes with no arrondissements or cantons. * Wallis and Futuna is divided into 3 districts which exactly match the three traditional chiefdoms with their traditional kings still at their head, the only kings currently recognized in the French Republic. These 3 districts are: Uvea, Sigave, and Tu`a (Alo). Uvea is the most populous and is further divided into 3 wards: Hahake, Mua, and Hihifo. Wallis and Futuna is also the only permanently inhabited territory of the French Republic with no communes. It also has no arrondissements or cantons. * 1 sui generis collectivity : New Caledonia, whose status is unique in the French Republic: it is the only territory which is not an overseas collectivity (although its subdivisions are territorial collectivities). A self-determination referendum is scheduled for 2014 to decide the future status of the island. * It is divided into 3 provinces * the provinces are subdivided into 33 communes * 1 overseas territory: the French Southern and Antarctic Lands which have no permanent population and no communes. * the French Southern and Antarctic Lands are divided into 4 districts 1. Kerguelen Islands 2. Crozet Islands 3. Amsterdam Island and Saint Paul Island 4. Adelie Land, although sovereignty over Adelie Land in Antarctica is suspended since the signing of the Antarctic Treaty in 1959. * Uninhabited islands which belong directly to the central State public land: * a collection of five islands in the Indian Ocean with no permanent population and known as Îles Éparses ("Scattered Islands"), which are administered by the prefect of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands: Bassas da India, Europa, Juan de Nova, Glorioso, and Tromelin. * 1 uninhabited island in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Mexico which is administered by the high-commissioner of the French Republic in French Polynesia: Clipperton Island.