after the tragic explosion of the AZF factory in Toulouse in 2001. MMM, MMW, MWM and MWW were withdrawn in 1994 because they needed too much space on plates. Bearing in mind that only 23 letters were used by the format and that most of the départements used four numbers after reaching QA, the number of car plates that the FNI format provides can be estimated at: (999 × 22) + (999 × 14 × 23) + (9988 × 9 × 23) + (988 × 21 × 23 × 23) = 13,386,864. This figure does not take into account avoided letter and number combinations. Regional codes Under the FNI system, the code of the was placed at the right of the registration plate. The codes are part of the Community Identification Number known in France as Code officiel géographique and are not only used for car registration but also in postcodes, statistics and for many other purposes. Each code consists of two digits except for Corse-du-Sud and Haute-Corse (2A and 2B) and the overseas départments where the identifier consists of 3 digits (in the series 971 to 978), the first two digits were often stacked on plates to save space. Between 1950 and 2009, France experienced some territorial changes which reflected on regional codes. Algeria was part of France until 1962 and French Algeria was also divided into départements. They had their own codes which were used on plates the same way as in the rest of France: Alger 91, Oran 92, Constantine 93 and the Southern Territories 94. Bône was created in 1955 and received 99. Several new départements were created in 1956–1958 as France was struggling with independence movements in the Algerian War. The new départements used codes such as 9A, 9B, 9C, 9D, etc. After the independence of the country, French car plates were no longer used there and Algerian codes became obsolete. In 1968, two in the Paris region were split into smaller ones because of the growing population. 75, which had been the code for Seine, was attributed to Paris and 78 (Seine-et-Oise) to Yvelines. Newly created were Essonne (91), Hauts-de-Seine (92), Seine-Saint-Denis (93), Val-de-Marne (94) and Val-d'Oise (95). Most of them received numbers that had previously been allocated to the in French Algeria. Saint Pierre and Miquelon, now a self-governing overseas collectivity with its own registration plates, was a proper between 1976 and 1985.