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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kingdom of France was organized into provinces until March 4, 1790, when the establishment of the département system superseded provinces.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.
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
Généralités
| Pre-Republican provinces of France, numbered according to their union with France, with provincial capitals marked. Listed as English name (French name, year of union with France; capital).
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- Royal Domain (Île-de-France, 987; Paris)
- Berry (Berry, 1101; Bourges)
- Duchy of Orléanais (Orléanais, 1198; Orléans)
- Normandy (Normandie, 1204; Rouen)
- Languedoc, mainly the County of Toulouse (Languedoc, 1270; Toulouse)
- Lyonnais (Lyonnais, 1313; Lyon)
- Dauphiné, the County of Vienne (Dauphiné, 1343; Grenoble)
- County of Champagne (Champagne, 1361; Troyes)
- Aunis, a fief of Aquitaine (Aunis, 1371; La Rochelle)
- Saintonge (Saintonge, 1371; Saintes)
- Poitou, a fief of Aquitaine (Poitou, 1416; Poitiers)
- Duchy of Aquitaine (Aquitaine, 1453; Bordeaux)
- Duchy of Burgundy (Bourgogne, 1477; Dijon)
- Picardy (Picardie, 1482; Amiens)
- Anjou (Anjou, 1482; Angers)
- County of Provence (Provence, 1482; Aix)
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- County of Angoulême (Angoumois, 1515; Angoulême)
- Duchy of Bourbon (Bourbonnais, 1527; Moulins)
- La Marche (Marche, 1527; Guéret)
- Duchy of Britanny (Bretagne, 1532; Rennes)
- County of Maine (Maine, 1584; Le Mans)
- Touraine (Touraine, 1584; Tours)
- Limousin (Limousin, 1589; Limoges)
- County of Foix (Comté de Foix, 1607; Foix)
- Duchy of Auvergne (Auvergne, 1610; Clermont-Ferrand)
- Viscounty of Béarn (Béarn, 1620; Pau)
- Alsace (Alsace, 1648; Strasbourg)
- County of Artois, a fief of the Habsburgs' Spanish Netherlands (Artois, 1659; Arras)
- Roussillon (Roussillon, 1659; Perpignan)
- Flanders, a fief of the Habsburgs' Spanish Netherlands (Flandre, 1668; Lille)
- Free County of Burgundy (Franche-Comté, 1678; Besançon)
- Duchy of Lorraine, a personal territory of Stanisław I of Poland within the Holy Roman Empire (Lorraine, 1766; Nancy)
- Corsica (off map, Corse, 1768; Ajaccio)
- Duchy of Nivernais (Nivernais, 1789; Nevers)
- Comtat Venaissin, a Papal fief (Comtat Venaissain, 1791; Avignon)
- Imperial Free City of Mulhouse (Mulhouse, 1798)
- Duchy of Savoy, a Sardinian fief (Savoie, 1860; Chambéry)
- County of Nice, a Sardinian fief (Comté de Nice, 1860; Nice)
- Principality of Montbéliard (Montbéliard, 1816, Montbéliard)
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Provinces_of_France.png
Provinces of France
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Parts of France in 1789
Provinces not part of France in 1789
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