Law on Departmentalization

The Law on Departmentalization (French: Loi de départementalisation) is a French law adopted in 1946 that established the "four vieilles colonies" (old colonies) of Guadeloupe, Martinique, Réunion, and French Guiana as overseas departments of France.

The law was unanimously adopted following a proposal by Aimé Césaire, the youngest deputy from Overseas France. It symbolically and practically marked the integration of these territories. These regions were thereby removed from the French colonial empire and came under the administration of prefects reporting to the French Ministry of the Interior.