A bungalow was destroyed by fire near Ajaccio in the night from Saturday to Sunday, after already being the target of an attempted bombing in September, claimed by the clandestine group FLNC, AFP has learned from of the Ajaccio public prosecutor’s office.
Located in Capo di Feno (Corse-du-Sud), near Ajaccio, this bungalow, the wooden frame of a swimming pool and a summer kitchen were destroyed by flames in this probably criminal fire, indicated the prosecution, which opened an investigation for destruction by fire, entrusted to the judicial police.
This place belonging to a hotelier from La Clusaz had already been the target of an attempted criminal destruction on September 1: an explosive charge had exploded in one of the bungalows, causing minimal damage. Several other explosive charges had been discovered with gas bottles but had not jumped, had then indicated the prosecutor of Ajaccio, Nicolas Septe.
On September 3, the clandestine independence movement of the Corsican National Liberation Front (FLNC) threatened, in a statement, a return to armed struggle on the island if the French state continued “its policy of contempt” in a text signed by the FLNC Union des combattants (FLNC-UC) and the FLNC on October 22. The FLNC-UC laid down its arms in 2014 and the October 22 FLNC announced demilitarization in 2016.
Several other second homes already damaged
In a second statement sent to Corse-Matin at the end of September, the FLNC had “claimed action against the construction of the SCI Capo di Feno and demanded the departure of Corsica” from the owner of the bungalows. The National Anti-Terrorist Prosecutor’s Office (PNAT) had then taken up the investigation.
The PNAT had also taken up the investigation into an attempted assassination attempt on a Crédit Agricole branch at the end of December in Folelli (Haute-Corse). FLNC tags had been inscribed on the façade and two gas cylinders had been found by investigators. On March 16, the FLNC again threatened, in a statement, to resume fighting.
Since that date, several second homes have been damaged by explosive charges or arson without there being any claim.