Corse-du-Sud (; , or ; ) is (as of 2019) an administrative department of

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 ...

, consisting of the southern 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

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 ...

on 1 January 2018, forming the

single territorial collectivity A single territorial collectivity (, ) is a chartered Administrative divisions of France, subdivision of France that exercises the powers of both a regions of France, region and a departments of France, department. This subdivision was introduc ...

of Corsica, with territorial elections coinciding with the dissolution of the separate council. Although its administrative powers were ceded to the new territorial collectivity, it remains an administrative department in its own right. In 2019, it had a population of 158,507.Populations légales 2019: 2A Corse-du-Sud
INSEE

History

Corse-du-Sud department relief location map

The department was formed on 1 January 1976, when the single department of

was divided into

and Corse-du-Sud. Its boundaries corresponded to the former department of Liamone, which existed from 1793 to 1811. On 6 February 1998, Corse-du-Sud's

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' ...

Claude Érignac was assassinated 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 ...

. The Corsican nationalist Yvan Colonna was eventually convicted of the crime. On 6 July 2003 a referendum rejected increased autonomy by a small majority, with 50.98 percent voting against and 49.02 percent for. This was a major setback for the French Minister of the Interior,

Nicolas Sarkozy Nicolas Paul Stéphane Sarközy de Nagy-Bocsa ( ; ; born 28 January 1955) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2007 to 2012. In 2021, he was found guilty of having tried to bribe a judge in 2014 to obtain information ...

, who had hoped to use Corsica as the first step in his decentralization programme. On 1 January 2018, Corse-du-Sud'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 north by the department of

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

Principal towns

The most populous commune is

, the prefecture. As of 2019, there are 3 communes with more than 4,000 inhabitants:

Demographics

The people living in Corse-du-Sud are called ''Suttanacci''. According to an INSEE study, in the period 2020-2021 9.1% of the population were immigrants and 11.3% were descendants of immigrants (at least one parent)

Politics

The current

of Corse-du-Sud (and also prefect of the collectivity of Corsica) is Amaury de Saint-Quentin, who took office on 7 March 2022.

Current National Assembly representatives

Tourism

The former department enjoys the mild and hot climate of Mediterranean Islands, and therefore attracts a lot of tourists. Its perhaps largest tourist attraction is the city of Bonifacio, Corse-du-Sud, 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. File:Ajaccio MN1JPG.jpg,

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

's birth house in

File:Bunifaziu – seaside.jpg, Bonifacio, Corse-du-Sud, Bonifacio citadel File:Sartene Vi1aJPG.jpg,

Sartène Sartène (; ; or ) is a commune in the department of Corse-du-Sud on the island of Corsica, France. Its history dates back to medieval times and granite buildings from the early 16th century still line some of the streets. One of the ma ...

File:Corse_Ota_pont_genois_Pianella.jpg, Stone bridge near Ota File:04_Calanche_Piana.jpg,

Calanques A calanque (, "inlet"; , plural ''calanche'' or ''calanchi''; , plural ''calancas'') is a narrow, steep-walled inlet that is developed in limestone, Dolomite (rock), dolomite, or other Carbonate minerals, carbonate strata and found along the Med ...

of Piana

Notes

References

External links

*
Prefecture website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Corse-Du-Sud 1976 establishments in France Departments of Corsica Corsica region articles needing translation from French Wikipedia States and territories established in 1976