Bayonne is the seat of a bishopric and of a subprefect; it has tribunals of first instance and of commerce, a chamber of commerce, a lycee, a school of music, a library, an art museum with a large collection of the works of the painter Leon Bonnat, and a branch of the Bank of France.
Compiegne is the seat of a subprefect, and has tribunals of first instance and of commerce, a communal college, library and hospital.
Douai is the seat of a court of appeal, a court of assizes and a subprefect, and has a tribunal of first instance, a board of trade-arbitrators, an exchange, a chamber of commerce and a branch of the Bank of France.