Préfecture
Not to be confused with the English word, prefecture.In
France, a
préfecture is the administrative town of a
département. By extension, it is also the name of one of the governing bodies of the
département, and of the building housing this government body.
A
préfecture de région is the equivalent of the
préfecture at the
région level.
There are 100
préfectures in France. The civil servant in charge is the
préfet. The
préfecture is an administration that belongs to the
Interior ministry, and is therefore in charge of the delivery of the identity card, driving licenses, passports, residence and work permits for foreigners, car registration, registration of the
associations (creation, status modification, dissolution), and of the management of the
police and of the
firefighters.
The prefect represents the national government locally and as such exercises locally the powers that are constitutionally or legally exercised by the national government.The
préfet issue
arrêtés, which are legal texts written for the application of the law, e.g. to close a building that does not conform to safety rules, or modify vehicular traffic regulations (speed limit, authorization for construction).
The governing body of the
département is the
Conseil Général, which is in charge of the building and maintenance of schools and roads, financial assistance to dependent people (disabled and elderly), and promotion of local, economic development, to name a few. In the past, the prefect was head of the
département; since
1982, the president of the
conseil général has been the chief executive of the department.
There is an exception with
Paris (which is itself a
département) and the three surrounding
départements (called the
petite couronne, small crown): those four
départements are governed by a single
préfecture for law enforcement and security purposes, which is the
préfecture de police (PP). The
préfet de police has the power of law enforcement for Paris, which is a power of the
mayor for the other French cities and towns.
Until
1977, Paris had no mayor and was mostly ruled by the
préfet de police (a situation inherited from the
Paris Commune,
1871).
The
départements are divided into
arrondissements, themselves divided into
cantons. The capital city of an
arrondissement is the
sous-préfecture. The civil servant in charge is the
sous-préfet. The capital city of a
canton is a
chef-lieu de canton. The
cantons have little role except as electoral subdivision.
*
Sous-préfecture*
Prefecture*
Administrative divisions of France*
French National Police
