Haute-Corse

Haute-Corse Corsica suprana / Cismonte / Alta Corsica  (Corsican) Upper Corsica
Department
Cismonte
Coat of arms of Haute-Corse Coat of arms Official logo of Haute-Corse Logo
Location of Haute-Corse in France Location of Haute-Corse in France
Country	France
Region	Corsica
Prefecture	Bastia
Subprefectures	Calvi Corte
Government
• Prefect	François Ravier
Area
• Total	4,666 km2 (1,802 sq mi)
Population (Jan. 2018)
• Total
• Rank	92nd
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Department number	2B
Arrondissements	3
Cantons	15
Communes	236
^1 French Land Register data, which exclude estuaries, and lakes, ponds, and glaciers larger than 1 km2

Haute-Corse (French pronunciation: [ot kɔʁs]; Corsican: Corsica suprana [ˈkorsiɡa suˈprana], Cismonte [tʃiˈzmɔntɛ] or Alta Corsica; English: Upper Corsica) 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 territorial collectivity of Corsica, with territorial elections coinciding with the dissolution of the separate councils. However, even though 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 181,933.

History

File:Haute-Corse department relief location map.jpg

Map of Haute-Corse

The department was formed on 1 January 1976, when the department of Corsica was divided into Upper Corsica (Haute-Corse) and Southern Corsica (Corse-du-Sud). The department corresponds exactly to the former department of Golo, which existed between 1793 and 1811.

On 6 July 2003, a 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.

On 1 January 2018, Haute-Corse'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 and on the south by the department of Corse-du-Sud. Rivers include the Abatesco, Golo and Tavignano.

Principal towns

The most populous commune is Bastia, the prefecture. As of 2019, there are 7 communes with more than 5,000 inhabitants:

Commune	Population (2019)
Bastia	48,503
Borgo	8,832
Biguglia	7,810
Corte	7,485
Lucciana	6,007
Calvi	5,774
Furiani	5,608

Demographics

The people living in the department are called Supranacci. Most people of the department lives on coastal areas throughout highway.

Historical population
Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1968	115,702	—
1975	125,284	+1.14%
1982	131,574	+0.70%
1990	131,563	−0.00%
1999	141,603	+0.82%
2007	159,847	+1.53%
2012	170,828	+1.34%
2017	177,689	+0.79%
Source: INSEE

Politics

The current prefect of Haute-Corse is François Ravier, who took office on 3 June 2019.

Current National Assembly representatives

Constituency		Member	Party
	Haute-Corse's 1st constituency	Michel Castellani	Pè a Corsica
	Haute-Corse's 2nd constituency	Jean-Félix Acquaviva	Pè a Corsica

Tourism

• 

  Bastia

• 

  Calvi seen from Notre-Dame de la Serra

• Sant'Antonino Vi1JPG.jpg

  Sant'Antonino, one of the most beautiful villages of France

• Saleccia 2004 1.jpg

  Désert des Agriates

• Riviere-restonica.jpg

  Restonica Gorge

See also

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

External links

• (French) Prefecture website
• (English) Haute-Corse at Curlie
• (English) Corsica Isula