Corse-du-Sud (South Corsica) is a French département composed of the southern part of the island of Corsica

Corsica

Corsica is an island in the Mediterranean Sea. It is located west of Italy, southeast of the French mainland, and north of the island of Sardinia....

.

History

The department was formed on 15 September 1975, when the Corse

Corse

Corse may refer to:*Corse, the French name for Corsica, the fourth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea*Corse , a European surname of multiple origins *Corse, a Shakespearean word for Corpse...

 department was divided into Haute-Corse

Haute-Corse

Haute-Corse is a French department. It constitutes the northern part of the island of Corsica.- History :The department was formed on 15 September 1975, when the department of Corse was divided into Haute-Corse and Corse-du-Sud...

 and Corse-du-Sud. Its boundaries correspond to the former department of Liamone

Liamone

Liamone was a department of France from 1793 to 1811. It was located in the southern and western parts of the island of Corsica. The capital was Ajaccio....

, which existed from 1793 to 1811.

The department hit the head-lines at the end of the twentieth century with the assassination at Ajaccio

Ajaccio

Ajaccio , is a commune on the island of Corsica in France. It is the capital and largest city of the region of Corsica and the prefecture of the department of Corse-du-Sud....

 of the prefect Claude Érignac

Claude Erignac

Claude Érignac was a former French prefect on the island of Corsica.Érignac was born in Mende, Lozère. In 1996 he went to Ajaccio in Corsica to take office as the Prefect of Corse-du-Sud. He was assassinated at 9:15 p.m. on 6 February 1998. Corsican nationalist militant Yvan Colonna was suspected...

 on 6 February 1998.

Geography

The department is surrounded on three sides by the Mediterranean Sea

Mediterranean Sea

The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...

 and on the north by the department of Haute-Corse

Haute-Corse

Haute-Corse is a French department. It constitutes the northern part of the island of Corsica.- History :The department was formed on 15 September 1975, when the department of Corse was divided into Haute-Corse and Corse-du-Sud...

.

The entire island of Corsica is mountainous with many beautiful beaches.

Culture and Politics

Corsicans are a fiercely independent people. However, a 6 July 2003 referendum on increased autonomy was voted down by a very thin majority: 50.98 percent against to 49.02 percent for. This was a major setback for French Minister of the Interior Nicolas Sarkozy

Nicolas Sarkozy

Nicolas Sarkozy is the 23rd and current President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra. He assumed the office on 16 May 2007 after defeating the Socialist Party candidate Ségolène Royal 10 days earlier....

, who had hoped to use Corsica as the first step in his decentralization policies.

General Council

The President of the General Council is Jean-Jacques Panunzi, who has held the office since 2006.

Party		seats
•	Union for a Popular Movement Union for a Popular Movement The Union for a Popular Movement is a centre-right political party in France, and one of the two major contemporary political parties in the country along with the center-left Socialist Party...	11
	Miscellaneous Left	4
•	Miscellaneous Right	4
	Left Radical Party Left Radical Party The Radical Party of the Left is a minor social-liberal, and in opposition to its common understanding of its name, a moderate centre-left political party in France advocating radicalism, secularism to its french extend known as laïcité, progressivism, pro-Europeanism, individual freedom and...	2
	Party of the Corsican Nation	1

Tourism

South Corsica enjoys the mild and hot climate of Mediterranean Islands, and therefore attracts a lot of tourists. Its gem is the city of Bonifacio, part of which is built upon a huge cliff.
But inside mountains are beautiful as well, especially the Aiguilles de Bavella, some naked, needle-like rocks.

See also

• Cantons of the Corse-du-Sud department
• Communes of the Corse-du-Sud department
• Arrondissements of the Corse-du-Sud department

External links

General Council website

University of Corsica website