2023-10-11 09:32:24
The latest “blue night” in Corsica should not disrupt the executive’s schedule regarding institutional changes for the island of beauty. Discussions between Paris and Corsican elected officials “will continue,” the prefect of Corsica assured Tuesday, despite the series of explosions perpetrated by the clandestine independence group FLNC during the night from Sunday to Monday.
“The process of discussions initiated at the initiative of the government with the main elected representatives of Corsica will continue, in accordance with the guidelines set by the President of the Republic during his intervention before the Corsican Assembly on September 28,” wrote in a communicated the prefect Amaury of Saint-Quentin.
The “strength of democracy” against “clandestine violence”
In reference to this new “blue night”, the prefect assured that “the attempts to destabilize a few will not be an obstacle”, considering that it is “in the interest of Corsica”: “Facing the return of clandestine violence, it is in the strength of democracy that Corsica will find the path to its future.”
During the night from Sunday to Monday, a series of explosions hit Corsica, mainly affecting second homes but also an abandoned tax center in Ajaccio, without causing any injuries, even if at least one couple was sleeping in one of the houses affected. “For the first time at this level since 2012, Corsica was hit (…) by clandestine actions directed against real estate,” regretted the prefect, counting “at this stage 31 actions confirmed in 20 municipalities”.
“Corsica has known for forty years how this violence constitutes an obstacle to its development and a profound challenge to the social pact on which our democratic society is built,” he insisted. In addition to mobilizing investigation services under the authority of the National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor’s Office, the prefect “instructed the police to intensify their presence on the ground in order to guarantee the safety of the population.”
During his visit to Corsica, Emmanuel Macron proposed to island elected officials to grant the island “autonomy in the Republic”, while warning that this “historic moment” would not take place “without” or “against” the ‘French State. The president came to close 18 months of discussions started after the explosion of island violence in 2022, after the death of independence activist Yvan Colonna, attacked in prison where he was serving a life sentence for the assassination of prefect Erignac in 1998.
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