The University of Corsica Pasquale Paoli ( Corsican: ''Università di Corsica Pasquale Paoli''; ) is a university, based in Corte,

Haute-Corse Haute-Corse (; , or ; ) is a department of France, consisting of the northern part of the island of Corsica. The corresponding departmental territorial collectivity merged with that of Corse-du-Sud on 1 January 2018, forming the single ter ...

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 ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

with secondary campuses in

Ajaccio Ajaccio (, , ; French language, French: ; or ; , locally: ; ) is the capital and largest city of Corsica, France. It forms a communes of France, French commune, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Corse-du-Sud, and head o ...

, Biguglia and Cargèse. Founded in 1765, closed in 1769, and re-founded in 1981, it is the only university on the island of Corsica.

History

The university draws its inspiration from the historic 18th-century university founded by

Pasquale Paoli Filippo Antonio Pasquale de' Paoli (; or ; ; 6 April 1725 – 5 February 1807) was a Corsican patriot, statesman, and military leader who was at the forefront of resistance movements against the Republic of Genoa, Genoese and later Kingd ...

, a key figure of the Corsican Enlightenment. The original university, established in 1765, operated briefly before closing due to war. In the early 1960s, student groups led by figures like Dominique Alfonsi began advocating for a Corsican university. By the mid-1970s, student movements like the ''Cunsulta di i Studienti Corsi'' in Nice radicalized, aligning with the FLNC and adopting Marxist-inspired decolonial ideologies. Successive French governments initially resisted the idea of a Corsican university, citing regional development policies prioritizing larger urban centers. Intense political and cultural pressure led Presidents

Georges Pompidou Georges Jean Raymond Pompidou ( ; ; 5 July 19112 April 1974) was a French politician who served as President of France from 1969 until his death in 1974. He previously served as Prime Minister of France under President Charles de Gaulle from 19 ...

and Giscard d’Estaing to approve the project. By the 1970s, Corte was chosen over

and

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 ...

as the university’s location, partly due to lobbying by local leaders like François Giacobbi. The university was formally established in 1981. By 1983, the university had reached 1,000 students, growing to 2,200 by 1989 and 3,500 by the early 2000s, with around 4,000 students since the 2010s.

Notable people

Faculty

* Xavier Mattei (born 1939, in

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

) - zoologist

Alumni

Michel Castellani Michel Castellani (born 28 September 1945) is a French politician representing Pè a Corsica. He was elected to the French National Assembly on 18 June 2017, representing the department of Haute-Corse. See also * 2017 French legislative elec ...

(born 1945) - politician * Gilles Simeoni (born 1967) - politician

References

Universities and colleges established in 1981 1981 establishments in France Education in Corte, Haute-Corse University of Corsica Pasquale Paoli {{france-university-stub