🌴 The southernmost cities in France

The southernmost city in France is Le Mont-Dore, at a latitude of 22.5171° S, ahead of Nouméa and Dumbéa. All three are in the southern hemisphere, which is where France reaches furthest south.

What are the 10 southernmost cities in France?
In order: Le Mont-Dore, Nouméa, Dumbéa, Païta, Petite-Île, Saint-Pierre, Saint-Joseph (974), L'Étang-Salé, Saint-Louis (974) and Le Tampon.
What is the top 5 of southernmost cities in France?
Le Mont-Dore (22.5171° S), Nouméa (22.3363° S), Dumbéa (22.1337° S), Païta (22.0651° S) and Petite-Île (21.3330° S).
Which city is 2nd in the ranking of southernmost cities in France?
Nouméa, at 22.3363° S, just behind Le Mont-Dore (22.5171° S).
Is Le Mont-Dore really the southernmost city in France?
Yes, at 22.5171° S, ahead of Nouméa (22.3363° S) and Dumbéa (22.1337° S).
In which département is Le Mont-Dore?
Le Mont-Dore is in département 988, in the Nouvelle-Calédonie region.
What is the difference between Le Mont-Dore and Nouméa?
Le Mont-Dore is at 22.5171° S, Nouméa at 22.3363° S. The table gives the same figure for all 100 places, so any two of them can be compared the same way.
Which city is 10th in the ranking of southernmost cities in France?
Le Tampon, at 21.2250° S.
How many French cities does this ranking compare?
1,131, with the top 100 listed in full in the table below.
What are the southernmost cities in France in 2026?
This ranking uses the most recent official figures published as of 2026: Le Mont-Dore leads with 22.5171° S.
Is there a complete ranking of southernmost cities in France?
Yes, the table below: the top 100 of 1,131, each with its département and its region, and the exact method and scope stated underneath it.
Which is the southernmost city in metropolitan France?
Setting aside the overseas cities that head this ranking, the southernmost are on the Mediterranean around Perpignan and in southern Corsica.
Are there French cities south of the equator?
Yes, and they head this ranking: Réunion, Mayotte and the Pacific territories are all in the southern hemisphere, which is why the top latitudes here are marked S rather than N.
Which city is at the bottom of the map of France?
On a map of metropolitan France alone, the Pyrénées-Orientales and southern Corsica. On a map of France as a whole, Le Mont-Dore.

The table below ranks the top 100 of the 1,131 cities in the dataset, each with its département, its region and the figure it is ranked on (latitude), so you can see not just the order but how far apart the places are. The numbers are official public data: INSEE legal populations and the IGN commune registry, with the exact method and the exact scope stated under the table rather than left to be guessed at.

The same data answers neighbouring questions too: see The French cities with the most rugby players and The French cities with the most pétanque players, or all rankings for the full list. All of it comes from Le Bon Rang, a free daily game that gives you five French cities and one of these statistics and asks you for the order.

Top 100 of 1,131 cities
#CityRegionLatitudePopulation
1988Le Mont-DoreNouvelle-Calédonie22.5171° S25,303
2988NouméaNouvelle-Calédonie22.3363° S85,976
3988DumbéaNouvelle-Calédonie22.1337° S34,926
4988PaïtaNouvelle-Calédonie22.0651° S27,609
5974Petite-ÎleLa Réunion21.3330° S13,067
6974Saint-PierreLa Réunion21.3090° S85,038
7974Saint-Joseph (974)La Réunion21.2921° S39,207
8974L'Étang-SaléLa Réunion21.2348° S14,464
9974Saint-Louis (974)La Réunion21.2254° S54,941
10974Le TamponLa Réunion21.2250° S82,579
11974Les AvironsLa Réunion21.2019° S11,536
12974Saint-LeuLa Réunion21.1816° S36,163
13974Saint-BenoîtLa Réunion21.0887° S38,604
14974Saint-PaulLa Réunion21.0366° S108,088
15974Bras-PanonLa Réunion21.0316° S13,012
16974La PossessionLa Réunion20.9965° S36,568
17974Saint-AndréLa Réunion20.9568° S58,885
18974Sainte-SuzanneLa Réunion20.9507° S25,551
19974Sainte-Marie (974)La Réunion20.9463° S37,093
20974Le PortLa Réunion20.9459° S33,969
21974Saint-Denis (974)La Réunion20.9434° S155,634
22987Taiarapu-EstPolynésie française17.7821° S13,602
23987Teva I UtaPolynésie française17.7224° S10,837
24987PaparaPolynésie française17.7119° S11,743
25987PaeaPolynésie française17.6961° S12,756
26987PunaauiaPolynésie française17.6180° S28,781
27987Hitiaa O Te RaPolynésie française17.5914° S10,196
28987FaaaPolynésie française17.5843° S29,826
29987PiraePolynésie française17.5699° S14,068
30987MahinaPolynésie française17.5575° S14,623
31987PapeetePolynésie française17.5572° S26,654
32987Moorea-MaiaoPolynésie française17.5060° S18,201
33987AruePolynésie française17.0496° S10,322
34987Bora-BoraPolynésie française16.4376° S10,758
35976BandreleMayotte12.9392° S10,282
36976SadaMayotte12.8642° S11,156
37976DembeniMayotte12.8530° S15,848
38976OuanganiMayotte12.8393° S10,203
39976PamandziMayotte12.8010° S11,442
40976MamoudzouMayotte12.7875° S71,437
41976TsingoniMayotte12.7824° S13,934
42976DzaoudziMayotte12.7761° S17,831
43976KoungouMayotte12.7417° S32,156
44976BandrabouaMayotte12.7176° S13,989
45973MatouryGuyane4.8281° N36,512
46973Remire-MontjolyGuyane4.8897° N27,723
47973ApatouGuyane4.9019° N10,306
48973KourouGuyane4.9085° N24,824
49973CayenneGuyane4.9464° N62,675
50973Saint-Laurent-du-MaroniGuyane4.9478° N54,429
51973MacouriaGuyane4.9925° N19,899
52973ManaGuyane4.9955° N10,957
53972Rivière-PiloteMartinique14.5027° N11,604
54972Rivière-SaléeMartinique14.5262° N11,829
55972Saint-EspritMartinique14.5617° N10,322
56972DucosMartinique14.5785° N18,105
57972Le FrançoisMartinique14.6093° N15,778
58972Le LamentinMartinique14.6231° N39,400
59972Fort-de-FranceMartinique14.6492° N75,506
60972SchœlcherMartinique14.6518° N19,478
61972Le RobertMartinique14.6786° N21,553
62972Saint-Joseph (972)Martinique14.6835° N16,258
63972La Trinité (972)Martinique14.7518° N11,454
64972Sainte-Marie (972)Martinique14.7730° N14,756
65971Saint-ClaudeGuadeloupe16.0406° N10,177
66971Capesterre-Belle-EauGuadeloupe16.0486° N17,684
67971Petit-BourgGuadeloupe16.1695° N24,665
68971Le GosierGuadeloupe16.2274° N27,757
69971Pointe-à-PitreGuadeloupe16.2351° N15,040
70971LamentinGuadeloupe16.2443° N18,628
71971Baie-MahaultGuadeloupe16.2498° N30,924
72971Sainte-AnneGuadeloupe16.2565° N23,973
73971Les AbymesGuadeloupe16.2678° N51,055
74971Saint-FrançoisGuadeloupe16.2784° N13,942
75971Sainte-RoseGuadeloupe16.2937° N17,700
76971Morne-à-l'EauGuadeloupe16.3212° N16,228
77971Le MouleGuadeloupe16.3354° N23,014
78977Saint-BarthélemySaint-Barthélemy17.9204° N10,660
79978Saint-MartinSaint-Martin18.0855° N31,160
802ABonifacioCorse41.4217° N3,344
812APorto-VecchioCorse41.5849° N11,198
822AProprianoCorse41.6510° N3,996
832AAjaccioCorse41.9228° N76,320
842BCorteCorse42.2737° N7,819
8566CollioureOccitanie42.5087° N2,756
8666Argelès-sur-MerOccitanie42.5300° N10,616
872BCalviCorse42.5498° N5,788
882BBorgoCorse42.5809° N10,311
8966Saint-CyprienOccitanie42.6205° N12,068
902BL'Île-RousseCorse42.6344° N3,231
9166CabestanyOccitanie42.6804° N10,465
9266Canet-en-RoussillonOccitanie42.6809° N13,227
932BBastiaCorse42.6861° N46,867
9466PerpignanOccitanie42.6990° N121,616
9566Saint-EstèveOccitanie42.7154° N11,630
9631Bagnères-de-LuchonOccitanie42.7492° N2,076
9766PiaOccitanie42.7506° N11,615
9865CauteretsOccitanie42.8656° N829
9911LimouxOccitanie43.0464° N10,532
10083La Seyne-sur-MerProvence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur43.0837° N63,732

Scope: France, metropolitan and overseas, Corsica and the DROM included. This dataset holds every commune of 10,000 inhabitants or more, plus smaller communes famous enough to be household names, 1,131 in all. It is not the full list of 35,000 French communes, so a village can sit outside a ranking whose extreme it would otherwise hold.

Method and sources: populations are the INSEE legal populations, boundaries and coordinates come from the IGN commune registry, both served by geo.api.gouv.fr. Density is the population divided by the commune's area; distances are measured as the crow flies from the commune's centre. Data read on August 11, 2026.

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FAQ

Which is the southernmost city in France?

The southernmost city in France is Le Mont-Dore, at a latitude of 22.5171° S, ahead of Nouméa and Dumbéa. All three are in the southern hemisphere, which is where France reaches furthest south.

What are the top 10?

In order: Le Mont-Dore (22.5171° S), Nouméa (22.3363° S), Dumbéa (22.1337° S), Païta (22.0651° S), Petite-Île (21.3330° S), Saint-Pierre (21.3090° S), Saint-Joseph (974) (21.2921° S), L'Étang-Salé (21.2348° S), Saint-Louis (974) (21.2254° S), Le Tampon (21.2250° S).

And the southernmost in metropolitan France?

Corsica: the island's southern tip reaches well below anything on the mainland, and the cliffs of Bonifacio look across to Sardinia. On the mainland itself the southernmost cities are on the Catalan coast and in the eastern Pyrenees, around Collioure, Argelès-sur-Mer and Perpignan. Overseas they are all further south than any of these, which is why they hold the top of the table: Nouvelle-Calédonie and Polynésie sit past 20° S, and La Réunion just short of it.

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