The commune is a level of administrative division in the French Republic. French communes are roughly equivalent to townships or incorporated municipalities in the United States or Gemeinden in Germany. French communes have no exact equivalent in the United Kingdom, but are closest to parishes, towns or cities.

A French commune may be a city of two million inhabitants like Paris, a town of ten thousand people, or just a ten-person hamlet. Except for the municipal arrondissements of its largest cities, the communes are the lowest level of administrative division in France.