Corsica and killings culminated in the assassination of Prefect Claude Érignac in 1998. In 2013, Corsica hosted the first three stages of the 100th Tour de France, which passed through the island for the first time in the event's 110-year history. Corsica was formed about 250 million years ago with the uplift of a granite backbone on the western side. About 50 million years ago sedimentary rock was pressed against this granite, forming the schists of the eastern side. It is the most mountainous island in the Mediterranean, a "mountain in the sea". It is also the fourth largest island in
Paeonia corsica Paeonia corsica Paeonia corsica is a perennial herbaceous plant of high that belongs to the peonies. It naturally occurs on Corsica, Sardinia, on the Ionian islands and in western Greece. It has hairless green to purple stems, and the lower leaves consist mostly of nine leaflets with undersides which may carry felty hairs or are hairless. Its flowers have pink petals and purple filaments. Its vernacular name in Italian is peonia Corsa, and in French pivoine de Corse, both meaning "Corsican peony". The Corsican peony is a diploid species (2n=10). It is a perennial herbaceous photosynthesising plant, which dies down