the smallest is the city of Paris (105 km2; 40 sq. mi.). The most populous is Nord (2,550,000) and the least populous is Lozère (74,000). Numbering The departments are numbered: their two-digit numbers appear in postal codes, in INSEE codes (including "social security numbers") and on vehicle number plates. Initially the numbers corresponded to the alphabetical order of the names of the departments, but several changed their names and some have been divided, so the correspondence became less exact. Alphanumeric codes 2A and 2B were used for Corsica while it was split but it has since reverted to 20. The two-digit code "98" is used by Monaco. Together with the ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 country code FR, the numbers form the ISO 3166-2 country subdivision codes for the metropolitan departments. The overseas departments have three digits. Relation to national government Originally, the relationship between the departments and the central government was left somewhat ambiguous. While citizens in each department elected their own officials, the local governments were subordinated to the central government, becoming instruments of national integration. By 1793, however, the revolutionary government had turned the departments into transmission belts for policies enacted in Paris. With few exceptions, the departments had this role until the early 1960s. Party political preferences These maps cannot be used as a useful resource of voter preferences, because Departmental Councils are elected on a two-round system, which drastically limits the chances of fringe parties, if they are not supported on one of the two rounds by a moderate party. After the 1992 election, the left had a majority in only 21 of the 100 departments; after the 2011 election, the left dominated 61 of the 100 departments. (Mayotte only became a department after the election.) Key to the parties: Divers Centre = Independents of the centre or Democratic Movement (Mouvement démocrate) Divers Droite (DVD) = Independent conservatives Divers Gauche (DVG) = Independent left-wing politicians MPF = Movement for France (Mouvement pour la France) (right) Nouveau Centre = New Centre (centre or centre-right) PCF = French Communist Party (Parti communiste français) PRG = Radical Party of the Left (Parti radical de gauche) PS = Socialist Party (Parti socialiste) UDF = Union for French Democracy (Union pour la démocratie française) succeeded by Democratic Movement UMP = Union for a Popular Movement (Union pour un mouvement populaire) Future The removal of one or more levels of local government has