Corsica is a very beautiful island in the Mediterranean, more precisely in the Tyrrhenian sea, east of the French Riviera and south of Genova. It has more beautiful beaches than the Côte d'Azur, and higher mountains. Moreover, thanks to the harsh shapes of the land, and to good government management, most of it is only slightly urbanized, and the coast is mostly free of the ugly buildings so frequent on the French coasts. Indeed it is a perfect place for sailing (which is the only way to sunbath on the most isolated beaches...) and backpacking ; the GR20 trail, which crosses the island along the crest of the mountains, is a favorite of Europeans, though it is quite hard.

The people living there are also quite peculiar. They were successively occupied by every kingdom that ruled that part of the Meditteranean - The Roman Empire, the Kingdoms of Pisa and Genova, and finally France, yet have violently revolted against each of them. It was the violent rebellion againt Genova, led by Pascal Paoli, that caused the italian kingdom to sell the island to France, just five years before the birth of Napoleon Bonaparte... A fair deal for the French, it seems.

Nowadays the Corsicans are still rebelling against France, and have been doing so quite violently for the last twenty five years. The independantists want recognition of the Corsican language (which is quite close to Italian), and greater autonomy. However, they may spend more time killing each other than bombing French government buildings, as the death of François Santoni has shown. This is caused by the presence of a few rival independantist groups, which fight each other for the control of the mafia-like system they impose on the island. Indeed, according to polls, most of the inhabitants do not want independence. On the other hand, in continental France it appears the majority wants to get rid of Corsica, which only causes trouble for the country...

Corsicans are also known to be a rather austere people, very jealous of their sisters and daughters, who are advised to stay at home, and who know the meaning of revenge. Thus they make good knives with large blades. Their cheese is also peculiar. If you think French cheese smells, don't get near a Corsican one!

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