Administration
Before 1975, Corsica was a départment of the French region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. In 1975 two new départements, Haute-Corse and Corse-du-Sud, were created by splitting the hitherto united département of Corse.
On 2 March 1982, a law was passed that gave Corsica the status of territorial collectivity (collectivité territoriale), abolishing the Corsican Regional Council which had existed before. Unlike the regional councils, the Corsican Assembly has executive powers over the island.
In 1992, three institutions were formed in the territorial collectivity of Corsica:
- The Executive Council of Corsica, which exercises the type of executive functions held in other French regions by the Presidents of the Regional Councils. It ensures the stability and consistency needed to manage the affairs of the territory;
- The Corsican Assembly, a deliberative, unicameral legislative body with greater powers than the regional councils on the mainland;
- The Economic, Social and Cultural Council of Corsica, an advisory body.
Recent attempts to gain greater autonomy for the territorial collectivity of Corsica have failed. A local referendum held in 2003, aimed at disbanding the départements and leaving only the territorial collectivity with extended powers, was voted down by a narrow margin.
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