This is a list of communes in France with a population over 20,000 at the March 8, 1999 census. All figures reflect INSEE's sans doubles comptes counting method.
There have been a couple of major changes since the 1999 census, however:
The commune of Cherbourg-Octeville[¹] (ranked 150 here) is the result of a merger of Cherbourg and Octeville on February 28, 2000. Their 1999 census populations have been combined here.
The commune of Lille[²] (ranked 10 here) absorbed the commune of Lomme on February 27, 2000. Their 1999 census populations have been combined here.
The commune of Saint-Martin[³] (ranked 257 here), as of February 22, 2007, is no longer a part of Guadeloupe, but is included here because of its former status at the time of the 1999 census.
For details on this topic, see Administrative divisions of France. For DOMs-TOMs, see the lists for French Guiana, French Polynesia, Guadeloupe, Mayotte and Réunion.

See also

List of towns
List of cities
Lists of communes of France