Haute-Corse (Upper Corsica) is a French department. It constitutes the northern part of the island of Corsica

Corsica

Corsica is an island in the Mediterranean Sea. It is located west of Italy, southeast of the French mainland, and north of the island of Sardinia....

.

History

The department was formed on 15 September 1975, when the department of Corse was divided into Haute-Corse and Corse-du-Sud

Corse-du-Sud

Corse-du-Sud is a French département composed of the southern part of the island of Corsica.- History :The department was formed on 15 September 1975, when the Corse department was divided into Haute-Corse and Corse-du-Sud...

. The department corresponds exactly to the former department of Golo which existed between 1793 and 1811.

Geography

The department is surrounded on three sides by the Mediterranean Sea

Mediterranean Sea

The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...

 and on the south by the department of Corse-du-Sud.

Culture and politics

The Corsicans are a fiercely independent people. However, a 6 July 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

Nicolas Sarkozy

Nicolas Sarkozy is the 23rd and current President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra. He assumed the office on 16 May 2007 after defeating the Socialist Party candidate Ségolène Royal 10 days earlier....

, who had hoped to use Corsica as the first step in his decentralization policies.

General Council

The President of the General Council is Paul Giacobbi

Paul Giacobbi

Paul Giacobbi is a member of the National Assembly of France. He represents the Haute-Corse department, and is a member of the Radical Party of the Left.-References:...

, who has held the office since 1998.

Party		seats
•	Left Radical Party Left Radical Party The Radical Party of the Left is a minor social-liberal, and in opposition to its common understanding of its name, a moderate centre-left political party in France advocating radicalism, secularism to its french extend known as laïcité, progressivism, pro-Europeanism, individual freedom and...	9
•	Miscellaneous Left	7
	Union for a Popular Movement Union for a Popular Movement The Union for a Popular Movement is a centre-right political party in France, and one of the two major contemporary political parties in the country along with the center-left Socialist Party...	5
	Miscellaneous Right	5
•	Socialist Party Socialist Party (France) The Socialist Party is a social-democratic political party in France and the largest party of the French centre-left. It is one of the two major contemporary political parties in France, along with the center-right Union for a Popular Movement...	3
	MoDem Democratic Movement (France) The Democratic Movement , MoDem) is a centrist, social liberal and pro-European French political party that was founded by centrist politician François Bayrou to succeed his Union for French Democracy and to contest the 2007 legislative election, after his strong showing in the 2007 presidential...	1

See also

• Cantons of the Haute-Corse department
• Communes of the Haute-Corse department
• Arrondissements of the Haute-Corse department

External links

General Council website
University of Corsica website Corsica Isula