Corse-du-Sud

Template:Use dmy dates Template:Expand French Template:Infobox settlement

Corse-du-Sud (Template:IPA; Template:Langx Template:IPA, Template:Lang Template:IPA Template:Efn or Template:Lang Template:IPA; Template:Langx) is (as of 2019) an administrative department of France, consisting of the southern part of the island of Corsica. The corresponding departmental territorial collectivity merged with that of Haute-Corse on 1 January 2018, forming the single territorial collectivity of Corsica, with territorial elections coinciding with the dissolution of the separate council.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite news</ref> Although 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 158,507.<ref name=pop2019>Populations légales 2019: 2A Corse-du-Sud, INSEE</ref>

History

File:Corse-du-Sud department relief location map.jpg

Map of Corse-du-Sud

The department was formed on 1 January 1976, when the single department of Corsica was divided into Haute-Corse 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 Claude Érignac was assassinated in Ajaccio. 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, 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.<ref name=":0" />

Geography

The department is surrounded on three sides by the Mediterranean Sea and on the north by the department of Haute-Corse. The entire island of Corsica is mountainous with many beautiful beaches.

Principal towns

The most populous commune is Ajaccio, the prefecture. As of 2019, there are 3 communes with more than 4,000 inhabitants:<ref name=pop2019/>

Commune	Population (2019)
Ajaccio	71,361
Porto-Vecchio	11,132
Bastelicaccia	4,124

Demographics

The people living in Corse-du-Sud are called Suttanacci. Template:Historical populationsAccording 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). [1]

Politics

The current prefect of Corse-du-Sud (and also prefect of the collectivity of Corsica) is Amaury de Saint-Quentin, who took office on 7 March 2022.<ref name=prefet/>

Current National Assembly representatives

Constituency		Member<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	Party
style="background-color: Template:Party color" \|	Corse-du-Sud's 1st constituency	Jean-Jacques Ferrara	The Republicans
style="background-color: Template:Party color" \|	Corse-du-Sud's 2nd constituency	Paul-André Colombani	Pè a Corsica

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, 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.