In Corsica, the three nationalist deputies qualified for the second round of the legislative

Autonomist MP Paul-André Colombani (Partitu di a nazione corsa), candidate for re-election, votes in a polling station in Ajaccio, Corsica, on June 12, 2022. PASCAL POCHARD-CASABIANCA / AFP

By placing for the first time a candidate in the second round in each of the four Corsican constituencies – including three outgoing – the nationalists confirm their hegemony on the Corsican political spectrum. But this domination has as many nuances as weaknesses, in an election marked by more than 51% abstention.

In an island where nearly one in three voters slipped a ballot in favor of Marine Le Pen during the presidential election, the National Rally (RN) represents 12% of the vote after the first round of the legislative elections, two points ahead of Together ! and three behind the right. The left, without the New Popular Ecological and Social Union (Nupes), absent from Corsica, is below 9%.

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With 17.48% of the vote, Romain Colonna (Femu a Corsica), a candidate endorsed by the President of the Executive Council of Corsica, Gilles Simeoni, in the 1^re constituency of Corse-du-Sud, which had escaped the autonomists in 2017, manages to qualify for the second round, but is far from the mayor of Ajaccio, Laurent Marcangeli (Together!). Of philippist sensibility. Mr. Marcangeli, favorite with 33.70% of the vote, is betting on recomposing a crumbled Corsican right, but also nourishes national ambitions, both at the Palais-Bourbon and in the round of negotiations between Corsica and Paris, which is opens at the end of June. “They don’t talk to me about autonomy, they talk to me about the fridge which is hard to fill or the tank of gas which is hard to pay”, he commented on Sunday evening.

Rooting

In the 2^e constituency of Corse-du-Sud, with 27.62% of the vote, the right represented by Valérie Bozzi was overtaken by the outgoing deputy, the separatist Paul-André Colombani (Partitu di a nazione corsa), who confirms his entrenchment ( 37.24%). Mr. Colombani, satisfied with his score, “quitus for the work done for five years”, approaches the second round serenely. But the question of the carryover of votes arises in this area where one in five voters chose one of the three far-right candidates, including the RN, which achieved a breakthrough at 14.77%.

In the 1^re constituency of Haute-Corse, stronghold of Mr. Simeoni, Michel Castellani (Femu a Corsica) obtained a score of 33.77%, outclassing his three pursuers. At 76, the outgoing MP, who embodied quiet strength during the campaign, bets on “come out very widely in the lead” Sunday June 19 against Julien Morganti (various center, 13.61%).

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All nationalist eyes are on the 2^e constituency of Haute-Corse, where the outgoing deputy Jean-Félix Acquaviva (Femu a Corsica) is in difficulty despite his 33.46% in a duel with François-Xavier Ceccoli (29.06%), the departmental president of the LR federation , which did not claim its label. As of Sunday evening, Mr. Ceccoli sharply attacked the patronage practices of his opponent, denouncing electoral promises of jobs or subsidies. Similar attacks were made by Lionel Mortini, a dissident nationalist and third man (17.99%) in this campaign, which has multiplied his criticisms against the Simeoni clan. “I come out on top when we played everything but Acquaviva and everything but Simeoni”decided Sunday evening Mr. Acquaviva, sweeping away these accusations.

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