Haute-Corse (; , or ; ) is a department of France, consisting of the northern part of the island of

Corsica Corsica ( , , ; ; ) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the Regions of France, 18 regions of France. It is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of the Metro ...

. The corresponding departmental

territorial collectivity A territorial collectivity (, previously '), or territorial authority, in many francophone countries, is a Legal person, legal entity governed by public law that exercises within its territory certain powers devolved to it by the State as part of a ...

merged with that of Corse-du-Sud on 1 January 2018, forming the single territorial collectivity of Corsica, with territorial elections coinciding with the dissolution of the separate councils. However, even though its administrative powers were ceded to the new territorial collectivity, it continues to remain an administrative department in its own right. In 2019, it had a population of 181,933.Populations légales 2019: 2B Haute-Corse
INSEE

History

Haute-Corse department relief location map

The department was formed on 1 January 1976, when the department of Corsica was divided into Upper Corsica (''Haute-Corse'') and Southern Corsica ('' Corse-du-Sud''). The department corresponds exactly to the former department of Golo, which existed between 1793 and 1811. On 6 July 2003, a 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, who had hoped to use Corsica as the first step in his decentralization policies. On 1 January 2018, Haute-Corse's administrative powers were partly ceded to the new territorial collectivity of Corsica.

Geography

The department is surrounded on three sides by the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...

and on the south by the department of Corse-du-Sud. Rivers include the Abatesco, Golo and Tavignano.

Principal towns

The most populous commune is

Bastia Bastia ( , , , ; ) is a communes of France, commune in the Departments of France, department of Haute-Corse, Corsica, France. It is located in the northeast of the island of Corsica at the base of Cap Corse. It also has the second-highest popu ...

, the prefecture. As of 2019, there are 7 communes with more than 5,000 inhabitants:

Demographics

The people living in the department are called ''Supranacci''. Most people of the department lives on coastal areas throughout highway.

Politics

The current

prefect Prefect (from the Latin ''praefectus'', substantive adjectival form of ''praeficere'': "put in front", meaning in charge) is a magisterial title of varying definition, but essentially refers to the leader of an administrative area. A prefect' ...

of Haute-Corse is François Ravier, who took office on 3 June 2019.

Current National Assembly representatives

Tourism

File:VP-nuit.jpg,

File:Depuis la Serra.jpg, Calvi seen from Notre-Dame de la Serra File:Sant'Antonino Vi1JPG.jpg, Sant'Antonino, one of the most beautiful villages of France File:Saleccia 2004 1.jpg, Désert des Agriates File:Riviere-restonica.jpg,

Restonica The Restonica is a small river in the department of Haute-Corse, Corsica, France. It is a tributary of the river Tavignano. The river has a steep and rocky course with many pools and waterfalls. The valley contains two lakes, and is a popular tou ...

Gorge

Notes

References

External links

*
Prefecture website
*
Corsica Isula
{{Authority control 1976 establishments in France Departments of Corsica Corsica region articles needing translation from French Wikipedia States and territories established in 1976