French Commune Lookup: Population, Area, Department & Postcodes

Search France's official commune (city/town) directory by name or postal code. Returns INSEE code, postcodes covered, population, surface area, coordinates, department and region. Free French government API (geo.api.gouv.fr), no key. For French market sizing and address enrichment.

What does French Commune Lookup do?

Search French communes by name or postcode: INSEE code, population, area, coordinates, department and region.

What can you use it for?

• Enrich a French city or postcode with population and area.
• Look up the INSEE code and department for a French commune.
• Build a reference table of French towns for market sizing.
• Find every postcode covered by a given commune.

Why use this Actor?

• Fast and cheap: lightweight HTTP-based Actor with no browser, so runs finish in seconds and cost very little.
• No API keys or accounts needed for the data source (see notes below).
• Clean, structured JSON that you can export as CSV, Excel, JSON or XML, or pull through the Apify API and integrations.
• Scheduling, webhooks and integrations: run it daily and send results to Google Sheets, Slack, Zapier, Make, n8n or your own API.

Input

Configure the run in the Input tab (all fields have sensible defaults).

Field	Type	Required	Default	Description
nom	string	no	-	French commune (city/town) name, e.g. Lyon.
codePostal	string	no	-	5-digit French postal code, e.g. 69001.
maxResults	integer	no	20	Maximum number of communes.

Example input

{
  "nom": "Lyon",
  "maxResults": 20
}

Output

Results are stored in the default dataset. Download them from the Output tab or via the API.

Example result

{
  "name": "Lyon",
  "inseeCode": "69123",
  "postalCodes": "69001, 69002, 69003, 69004, 69005, 69006, 69007, 69008, 69009",
  "population": 519127,
  "surfaceHectares": 4797.43,
  "latitude": 45.758,
  "longitude": 4.8351,
  "department": "Rhône",
  "departmentCode": "69",
  "region": "Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes",
  "epciCode": "200046977",
  "source": "geo.api.gouv.fr (France, Etalab Open Licence)",
  "scrapedAt": "2026-10-24T20:41:15.658Z"
}

Output fields

Field	Type	Example
name	string	"Lyon"
inseeCode	string	"69123"
postalCodes	string	"69001, 69002, 69003, 69004, 69005, 69006, 69007, 69008, ...
population	number	519127
surfaceHectares	number	4797.43
latitude	number	45.758
longitude	number	4.8351
department	string	"Rhône"
departmentCode	string	"69"
region	string	"Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes"
epciCode	string	"200046977"
source	string	"geo.api.gouv.fr (France, Etalab Open Licence)"
scrapedAt	string	"2026-10-24T20:41:15.658Z"

How much does it cost?

The Actor is billed by Apify according to the pricing shown on the Pricing tab of this page. Runs are small and fast, and the Apify Free plan includes monthly platform credits so you can try it at no cost. You can set a maximum cost per run, and the Actor stops cleanly when that limit is reached.

Notes and limitations

• Data is from the French government's official commune directory (Etalab Open Licence, commercial reuse allowed with attribution).
• Fill either the commune name or the postal code; results are ranked by population, largest first.

Tips

• Start with a small test run, then scale up the input.
• Use Schedules to automate recurring runs and Webhooks or Integrations to deliver the data where you need it.
• Call the Actor from your code with the Apify API or the official JavaScript and Python clients.

FAQ

Can I search by postal code instead of name?

Yes, fill 'Postal code' instead of 'Commune name'. A postal code can cover more than one commune.

What is codeEpci?

The code of the inter-communal body (EPCI) the commune belongs to, when it has one.

Feedback

Found a bug or need an extra field? Open an issue from the Issues tab of this Actor and it will be looked at quickly.

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