a commune is the lowest administrative division in france. it represents all parts of a town or a village under the same name, for example paris, bordeaux or rennes. as of january 1, 2008, there were 36,781 communes in france; 36,569 of them are in metropolitan france and 212 of them are in overseas france. this is much more than in any other european country. every commune in france elects a mayor. the french word "commune" was first used in the 12th century['], from medieval latin "communia", meaning a small gathering of people sharing a common life, from latin "communis", things held in common.[']