Communes of France

A commune is the lowest administrative division in France. It represents all parts of a town or a village under the same name, for example Paris, Bordeaux or Rennes. As of January 1, 2008, there were 36,781 communes in France; 36,569 of them are in metropolitan France and 212 of them are in overseas France. This is much more than in any other European country. Every commune in France elects a mayor. The French word "commune" was first used in the 12th century['], from Medieval Latin "communia", meaning a small gathering of people sharing a common life, from Latin "communis", things held in common.[']