6. Glossary

Local authority

As legal entities governed by public law, distinct from the State, they enjoy legal and asset autonomy, and are divided into communes, départements and regions.

Legal entity

A group with a legal personality that gives it rights and obligations (e.g. a trading company).

Individuals

A person taken as a subject of law, as opposed to a legal entity.

Administrative Police

Unlike the judicial police, whose aim is repression, the administrative police aim is prevention, with a view to maintaining public order; the ICPE police are special administrative police.

Rules and regulations

Texts adopted by representatives of the executive power (minister, prefect,...