| Regions Of France |
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France is divided into 26 ''régions'': 21 of these are in the continental part of Metropolitan France , one is Corse on the island of Corsica (although strictly speaking Corse is in fact a "territorial collectivity", not a ''région'', but is referred to as a ''région'' in common speech), 4 are overseas. ''Régions'' are further subdivided into '' Département s''. General characteristics In continental France ( Metropolitan France excluding Corsica ), the Median land area of a ''région'' is 25,809 km&2 (9,965 sq. miles), which is about one-fifth of the median land area of a U.S. State , but 28% larger than the median land area of a German State , and 67% larger than the median land area of a Region Of England . In 2004 , the median population of a ''région'' in continental France was 2,329,000 inhabitants, which is a little less than one-half of the median population of a region of England, a little more than one-half of the median population of a U.S. state, and three-quarter of the median population of a German state. A median ''région'' of continental France is made up of four ''départements''. Role ''Régions'' do not have legislative autonomy, nor can they issue regulations. They do levy their own distinct taxes (and receive a decreasing part of their budget from the national government which gives them a portion of the taxes it levies) and have sizeable, though not considerable, budgets, managed by a regional assembly (''conseil régional'') with nominated representants in the ''départements'' assemblies and major municipalities in the ''région''. Their main legal attribution is to build and pay equipment costs for high schools; in March 2004, the French national government announced a controversial plan to transfer to the ''régions'' some categories of non-teaching school personnel. Critics of this plan contend that it is doubtful that sufficient fiscal resources for these additional charges will be transferred, and that such measures will increase inequalities between ''régions''. Apart from these legal attributions, ''régions'' have considerable discretionary spending for infrastructure (education, public transportation systems, aid to universities and research, support for Entrepreneur s). Because of this, being president of a wealthy ''région'' such as Île-de-France or Rhône-Alpes may be quite a high profile position. There are, from time to time, discussions about giving limited legislative autonomy to the ''régions'', but such proposals are controversial. There are also proposals to suppress the local government (''conseil général'') of the ''départements'' and to folding them into their ''régions'', keeping the ''départements'' only as administrative subdivisions. List
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