FactualThe Minister of the Interior visited the island for two days and had many meetings. He undertook to repeat the exercise every six weeks, as part of the process of discussions born after the spring riots, which could lead to institutional changes.
It’s market day in Sartène (Corse-du-Sud). The four or five traders who have come to sell their products have set up their stalls, around which tourists wander. It is barely 8:30 a.m. and, on this Saturday, July 23, the sun is not yet beating down too hard. Gérald Darmanin sat down on the terrace of Le Bien Assis. Seated in front of a small round table in this café on Place Porta, the Minister of the Interior casually chats with two elected officials from this large town, sub-prefecture of Corse-du-Sud, located not far from the Propriano beaches.
Like a few dozen other consumers, to whom he has not failed to shake hands, he tastes the morning sweetness of this day which promises to be scorching. Were it not for his somewhat strict dark blue suit, that perfectly ironed white shirt and that tie tied around a stiff collar, one would take him for one of those regulars who, every day at the same time, come there to drink their coffee, before the Parisian – the thought, pronounced “pinsout” – or other tourists flock to the best tables, sheltered from the sun. For now, the latter are taking advantage of the market: honey from the mountains of Corsica, canistrelli and cheeses from the sheepfold…
Gérald Darmanin has been traveling for two days ” the island of Beauty “, as it repeats at each step. A marathon tour started Friday morning in Bastia, extended late afternoon and evening in Zicavo and Cozzano, two villages with tall houses, closed shutters and characteristic granite facades of Haut-Taravo in Corse-du-Sud, continued in Propriano and Bonifacio the next day, before returning to Paris at the end of the day. Gendarmes, police officers, firefighters, elected officials, entrepreneurs, local producers, business school students… The Minister of the Interior, who according to his expression feels “as Minister of Corsica”, carries out this meal visit with care and method. Above all, don’t forget anything or anyone.
Roadmap
In truth, behind this more or less formal attention, Gérald Darmanin is on a mission: to renew the damaged links with Corsica and its representatives since the nationalists took over the presidency of the island community in 2015, to establish a respectful dialogue, to appease the tensions to lead to possible institutional developments. After the riots which, in March and April, shook the island following the fatal attack suffered on March 2 by Yvan Colonna at the Arles power plant (Bouches-du-Rhône), where the assassin from the prefect Claude Erignac was serving his sentence, the Minister of the Interior inherited the Corsican file. “At the worst timehe blurts out. We avoided the worst, there was no death. »
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