Communes typically are based on pre-existing villages and facilitate local governance. All communes have names, but not all named geographic areas or groups of people residing together are communes ("lieu dit" or "bourg"), the difference residing in the lack of administrative powers.

The longest name of a commune is held by (take a breath) Saint-Remy-en-Bouzemont Saint-Genest-et-Isson in Champagne (Marne) which has 38 letters and 45 characters. If you think hyphens are cheating, how about Niederschaeffolsheim and Mittelschaeffolsheim in Alsace, which each have 20 letters.

Discover the communes of France A commune in France is a local 'administrative unit' and can be as small as a few hectares - or as large as Paris! There are about 36,000 communes in total across the country.