Corsican Assembly

Corsican Assembly Assemblea di Corsica L'Assemblée de Corse
Type
Type	Unicameral
History
Founded	2 March 1982
Leadership
President of the Assembly	Jean-Guy Talamoni, Corsica Libera Since 17 December 2015
Structure
Seats	51
Political groups	Pè a Corsica (24) Prima A Corsica (PRG) (12) Le Rassemblent (LR) (11) FN (4)
Elections
Last election	2015
Meeting place
Grand Hôtel d'Ajaccio et Continental, Ajaccio
Website
www.corse.fr/Assemblee-de-Corse-Assemblea-di-Corsica_r8.html (French)

The Corsican Assembly (Corsican: Assemblea di Corsica; French: L'Assemblée de Corse) is the unicameral legislative body of the territorial collectivity of Corsica. It has its seat at the Grand Hôtel d'Ajaccio et Continental, in the Corsican capital of Ajaccio.

History

Before 1975, Corsica was a département of the French region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur.

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.

Terminology

Members of the Corsican Assembly were first called "territorial councillors" in reference to Corsica's status as a collectivité territoriale. Members are now called "Councillors of the Corsican Assembly", or in unofficial and everyday speech, just "Councillors".

Powers

• Economic development
• Taxation
• Energy
• Environment
• Housing
• Education and training
• Language
• Transport
• Forestry and agriculture
• Culture
• Tourism
• Sports & youth

Composition

There are 51 members of the Assembly, elected for a six-year term via a closed party list and two rounds of voting. To pass beyond the first round, a candidate requires an absolute majority, whereas in the second round a plurality is sufficient.

The list that wins in the first or second round automatically obtains three seats as a "premium to the majority". The other seats are distributed based on proportional representation.

At the first meeting of Assembly Councillors after an election, the councillors elect an Assembly President in a plurality ballot. This is also a two round contest, with an absolute majority required to proceed to the second round. At the same time as the election of the President, the Assembly also elects the ten members that will make up the President's Committee (bureau).

In contrast to the executives of the regional councils, Assembly Councillors may not also be members of the Corsican Executive Council. Election to the executive requires resignation from the Assembly.

2015 regional election results

Presidents of the Corsican Assembly

• 1974–1979: François Giacobbi
• 1979–1982: Jean Filippi
• 1982–1984: Prosper Alfonsi
• 1984–1998: Jean-Paul de Rocca-Serra
• 1998–2004: José Rossi
• 2004–2010: Camille de Rocca Serra
• 2010–2015: Dominique Bucchini
• 17 December 2015: Jean-Guy Talamoni

Assembly members

Members since 2015:

See also

• French regional elections, 2015

External links

• Website of the L'Assemblée de Corse / L'Assemblea di Corsica (French) (Corsican)