The aire urbaine is an INSEE (the national statistics office of France) statistical region comprising a couronne périurbaine commuter belt around a contiguous pôle urbain (urban core). As it is specifically defined by statistical criteria, it is similar--though not identical--to the more general term of "urban area" used in English.
The aire urbaine is a demographic unit the result of a quite literal methodology: drawn upon France's nation-wide map of interlocking commune municipalities, the aire urbaine has for its centre a pôle urbain (similar to a unité urbaine ("urban unit") - see note below) core of communes containing an interconnecting and unbroken urban growth; this centre forms a "pole of attraction" for a couronne périurbaine ("periurban ring" or commuter belt) communes having at least 40% of their resident populations commuting with the pôle urbain, or with other communes having the same relation to the pôle urbain. The result is a precise demographic map of a) a centre of urban growth and b) its socio-economic reach into the surrounding area.
Note: There is a slight difference between a unité urbaine and a pôle urbain : the basic unité urbaine is a contiguous urban growth containing at least 5,000 jobs, and the pôle urbain is the same as a centre of demographic growth; that is to say it is an urban area that it is not contained within the couronne périurbaine (commuter belt) of any other pôle urbain.
The following is a list of the fifteen largest aires urbaines of France based on population at the 1999 census:
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