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| Corse-du-Sud | |
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| Coat of arms of the Corse-du-Sud department | |
| Location | |
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| Administration | |
| Department number: | 2A |
| Region: | Corse |
| Prefecture: | Ajaccio |
| Subprefectures: | Sartène |
| Arrondissements: | 2 |
| Cantons: | 22 |
| Communes: | 124 |
| President of the General Council: | Jean-Jacques Panunzi UMP |
| Statistics | |
| Population | Ranked 99th |
| -1999 | 118,593 |
| Population density: | 30/km² |
| Land area¹: | 4014 km² |
| ¹ French Land Register data, which exclude estuaries, and lakes, ponds, and glaciers larger than 1 km². | |
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Corse-du-Sud (Corsican: Corsica suttana) (English: Southern Corsica) is a French département. It is composed of the southern part of the island of Corsica.
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History
The department was formed on September 15, 1975, when the Corse department was divided into Haute-Corse and Corse-du-Sud. Its boundaries correspond to the former department of Liamone, which existed from 1793 to 1811.
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.
Demographics
The inhabitants of all of Corsica are called Corsicans.
Culture
Corsicans are a fiercely independent people. However, a July 6, 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, who had hoped to use Corsica as the first step in his decentralization policies.
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
- (French) General Council website
- (English) Corse-du-Sud at the Open Directory Project
- (French) University of Corsica website
