Wikipedia provides a good description of the Politics of France. France is a unitary state in which the central government is ultimately supreme and the administrative divisions only exercise the powers that the central government chooses to delegate. There are three administrative sub-divisions Regions France is divided into 13 administrative regions. Our region is now Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. These administrative regions are divided into 96 mainland departments. Yonne (#89) is our department. Departments are also divided into Arondissements and Cantons. Our Arondissement is Auxerre and our Canton is Joux-la-Ville. Communes Mailly-le Chateau is the name of our village and it is also the name of the commune. With an area of only 37.28 km2 and a population of around 590, this is one of a multitude of small French communes. There are 171 Communes in the Auxerre Arondissement. Mailly-le-Chateau has its own Council (Mairie) with Council Chambers at 1, Place St Adrien and a part-time Mayor (Maire). 
There are two other sub-divisions between the Department and Commune levels but these do not seem to be as administratively significant. Arrondissement Within the Auxerre Arrondissement (called Auxerrois) there are 22 Cantons and 196 Communes (including Mailly-le-Chateau). Canton European Union (EU) Superimposed over these six levels of government and administration is the EU. France is a founding member of the EU and part of its sovereignty has been transferred to European institutions. The French government is committed to abide by European treaties, directives and regulations. |