France administrative divisions

France is divided into 22 regions, which correspond more or less to ancient provinces. The regions are divided in 95 administrative departments (département), 3808 cantons and no less than 36511 municipalities. There are elections at each level.

This organization is usually seen as a handicap. For example, departments have a lot of power, but they are too small to play a role on the european stage. And the municipalities are not very efficient due to their small size. For example, a lot of municipalities do not even have a school or a post office.

The 22 regions are:

Alsace                 Aquitaine           Auvergne
Basse-Normandie        Bourgogne           Bretagne
Centre                 Champagne-Ardenne   Corse
Franche-Comté          Haute-Normandie     Île-de-France
Languedoc-Roussillon   Limousin            Lorraine
Midi-Pyrénées          Nord-Pas-de-Calais  Pays-de-la-Loire
Picardie               Poitou-Charentes    Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
Rhône-Alpes

And the 95 departments in European France are:

Id  Departement               Region 

01  Ain                       Rhône-Alpes
02  Aisne                     Picardie
03  Allier                    Auvergne
04  Alpes-de-Haute-Provence   Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur
05  Hautes Alpes              Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur
06  Alpes-Maritimes           Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur
07  Ardèche                   Rhône-Alpes
08  Ardennes                  Champagne-Ardennes
09  Ariège                    Midi-Pyrénées
10  Aube                      Champagne-Ardennes
11  Aude                      Languedoc-Roussillon
12  Aveyron                   Midi-Pyrénées
13  Bouches-du-Rhône          Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur
14  Calvados                  Basse-Normandie
15  Cantal                    Auvergne
16  Charente                  Poitou-Charentes
17  Charente-Maritime         Poitou-Charentes
18  Cher                      Centre
19  Corrèze                   Limousin
2A  Haute Corse               Corse
2B  Corse-du-Sud              Corse
21  Côte d'Or                 Bourgogne
22  Côtes d'Armor             Bretagne
23  Creuse                    Limousin
24  Dordogne                  Aquitaine
25  Doubs                     Franche-Comté
26  Drôme                     Rhône-Alpes
27  Eure                      Haute-Normandie
28  Eure-et-Loir              Centre
29  Finistère                 Bretagne
30  Gard                      Languedoc-Roussillon
31  Haute Garonne             Midi-Pyrénées
32  Gers                      Midi-Pyrénées
33  Gironde                   Aquitaine
34  Hérault                   Languedoc-Roussillon
35  Ille-et-Vilaine           Bretagne
36  Indre                     Centre
37  Indre-et-Loire            Centre
38  Isère                     Rhône-Alpes
39  Jura                      Franche-Comté
40  Landes                    Aquitaine
41  Loir-et-Cher              Centre
42  Loire                     Rhône-Alpes
43  Haute Loire               Auvergne
44  Loire-Atlantique          Pays-de-la-Loire
45  Loiret                    Centre
46  Lot                       Midi-Pyrénées
47  Lot-et-Garonne            Aquitaine
48  Lozère                    Languedoc-Roussillon
49  Maine-et-Loire            Pays-de-la-Loire
50  Manche                    Basse-Normandie
51  Marne                     Champagne-Ardennes
52  Haute Marne               Champagne-Ardennes
53  Mayenne                   Pays-de-la-Loire
54  Meurthe-et-Moselle        Lorraine
55  Meuse                     Lorraine
56  Morbihan                  Bretagne
57  Moselle                   Lorraine
58  Nièvre                    Bourgogne
59  Nord                      Nord-Pas-de-Calais
60  Oise                      Picardie
61  Orne                      Basse-Normandie
62  Pas-de-Calais             Nord-Pas-de-Calais
63  Puy-de-Dôme               Auvergne
64  Pyrénées-Atlantiques      Aquitaine
65  Hautes Pyrénées           Midi-Pyrénées
66  Pyrénées-Orientales       Languedoc-Roussillon
67  Bas Rhin                  Alsace
68  Haut Rhin                 Alsace
69  Rhône                     Rhône-Alpes
70  Haute Saone               Franche-Comté
71  Saone-et-Loire            Bourgogne
72  Sarthe                    Pays-de-la-Loire
73  Savoie                    Rhône-Alpes
74  Haute Savoie              Rhône-Alpes
75  Paris                     Île-de-France
76  Seine-Maritime            Haute-Normandie
77  Seine-et-Marne            Île-de-France
78  Yvelines                  Île-de-France
79  Deux-Sèvres               Poitou-Charentes
80  Somme                     Picardie
81  Tarn                      Midi-Pyrénées
82  Tarn-et-Garonne           Midi-Pyrénées
83  Var-Provence              Alpes-Côte-d'Azur
84  Vaucluse                  Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur
85  Vendée                    Pays-de-la-Loire
86  Vienne                    Poitou-Charentes
87  Haute Vienne              Limousin
88  Vosges                    Lorraine
89  Yonne                     Bourgogne
90  Territoire-de-Belfort     Franche-Comté
91  Essonne                   Île-de-France
92  Hauts-de-Seine            Île-de-France
93  Seine-Saint-Denis         Île-de-France
94  Val-de-Marne              Île-de-France
95  Val-d'Oise                Île-de-France

There are also 6 Overseas Departments:

Id  Name                      Location

971 Guadeloupe                West Indies
972 Martinique                West Indies
973 Guyane                    South America
974 Réunion                   Indian Ocean

as well as 2 Overseas Territorial Communities:

Id  Name                       Location

975 Saint Pierre et Miquelon  North America, facing Canada
976 Mayotte                   Indian Ocean  

and 4 Overseas Territories:

French Polynesia
Wallis and Futuna
Terres Australes et Antarctiques
New Caledonia

There are also a few islands I had never heard of (except Clipperton) before writing this node:

Bassas da India
Europa
Juan de Nova
Iles Glorieuses
Tromelin
Clipperton