France is divided into 100
"counties" called departments. Each department is subdivided
into smaller units called
arrondissements and there are 342 in the nation.
Arrondissements are further divided into cantons or communes.
A ring road called the Périphérique
circles the City of Paris. Inside this circle, the city is
divided into 20
arrondissements. These are reflected in the postal codes
by the last two digits. All Paris addresses begin with the
department number 75 so 75013 would mean it is located in the 13th
arrondissement of Paris.