Tensions between Corsica and Paris continue. Prime Minister Castex is now allowing two nationalists to be transferred to prisons on the Mediterranean island.
After violent riots in Corsica, the government in Paris has set the course for the return of two imprisoned Corsican nationalists to the French Mediterranean island.
French Prime Minister Jean Castex removed them both from a list of prisoners who are under special surveillance, the French news agency AFP reported. Since such observation is not possible in all detention centers, requests for transfer to the island have always been rejected. Alain Ferrandi and Pierre Alessandri are being held in Poissy near Paris, almost 900 kilometers from Corsica.
Separatists demand autonomy from Paris
The relationship between Corsica and the government in Paris has long been difficult. For decades, Corsican separatists fought for more independence, often with violence. The underground organization FLNC laid down their arms in 2014. At about the same time, moderate nationalists gained political importance. They now have the majority in the regional parliament and are demanding autonomy.
Ferrandi and Alessandri were sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of Claude Erignac, the prefect of Corsica. The highest-ranking representative of the French state in Corsica was shot dead in the island’s capital, Ajaccio, in 1998. Her accomplice Yvan Colonna also received life imprisonment. Last week he was injured by a fellow prisoner in Arles prison and is now in a coma. Paris then took him off the special list.
riots in cities
The attack on Colonna triggered riots on the popular holiday island of Corsica. Demonstrations in several cities escalated on Wednesday evening. Several security forces, protesters and journalists were injured. There were also riots in the Corsican cities of Bastia and Corte on Thursday evening.
Demonstrators accuse France of complicity in the attack on Colonna. They are bothered that this was not transferred to Corsica. Experts see the reason for the violent protests as being that nationalist demands have not been met in recent years and that there is no real dialogue with the government in Paris.
Source: Stern
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