One of the 26 cantons of Switzerland, Jura is located in the north-west of the country on the border with France. Until 1815, Jura was an autonomous political entity run by the prince-bishop of Basel, but after the Congress of Vienna, it was annexed to the canton of Bern. Unlike the German-speaking Protestant Bern, Jura's inhabitants are Francophone Catholics, which presence gave birth to an autonomist movement aimed at secession from Bern.
The movement intensified in 1947, when the organization called the Jura Assembly was established, which set as its goal the struggle for independence. In 1959, supporters of the autonomy collected the necessary number of signatures for the initiative to create the canton of Jura, but the inhabitants of the canton of Bern rejected the idea. In 1974, however, a referendum was held, and in 1979 the new province of Jura was established. Thus, Jura is the only Swiss canton created as a result of the ethnic-regional autonomist movement.
More than 90% of the population speaks French. 69.6% are Catholics, 10% are Protestants. Any additional preferences for the autonomy were redundant since French was recognized as official on the national level. As in other French-speaking cantons, education in the schools of Jura is conducted in French.
Like other cantons, Jura is represented in the federal executive and legislative powers; the province also has its own regional parliament and government. However, three francophone communities remain in Berne ("Berna Jura"). This causes some tensions; many Jurassians consider this state of affairs temporary and demand the acquisition of French-speaking areas by Jura.
