commune

A commune is a basic local territorial unit governed under a legal system that uses the term.

It commonly combines one or more settlements with their surrounding land and has local administrative bodies. Its exact powers and its parent division are fixed by national law, so the name does not imply one universal tier.

In France, the commune is the basic territorial authority administered by a mayor. In Vietnam, a commune is the rural form of the commune-level unit, alongside an urban ward and an island special zone.