Suspended for five months, the cycle of discussions between the Corsican representatives and the government relating to a possible new status for the island, resumed Friday, February 24 at the Ministry of the Interior, in Paris. The opening of this third meeting – the two previous ones took place on July 21 and September 16, 2022 – was marked by the presence of the President of the Republic, Emmanuel Macron, who took his place around the table alongside the Minister of interior Gérald Darmanin and the president of the island executive, Gilles Simeoni.
The Head of State invited himself at the last moment. In Ajaccio, the rumor of his arrival rustled Thursday, at the beginning of the afternoon, when the news of the granting of semi-freedom for Alain Ferrandi, one of the assassins of the prefect Erignac sentenced to life imprisonment, had just fallen. “There could be a surprise” were murmuring half voice, smirking, Jean-Jacques Ciccolini, Mayor of Cozzano (Corse-du-Sud), President of the Association of Mayors of Corse-du-Sud and Jean-Christophe Angelini, Mayor of Porto-Vecchio (Corse-du-Sud ), both members of the delegation en route to Paris. It is therefore a reboot with great fanfare for this discussion process hitherto becalmed. It is also a sign of the importance that the President of the Republic attaches to it and a way of underlining his determination to see it go to its scheduled term before the end of 2023.
On the menu of this meeting, which was to be cut short due to the obligations of the Minister of the Interior linked to the first anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the participants were to examine the special status of the overseas territories of Polynesia and New -Caledonia to establish a comparison with the Corsican model, before briefly tackling the land issue on an island plagued by speculative excesses which, more and more often, prevent young Corsican people from accessing housing.
“Put the card on the table”
It has now been three weeks since the Corsica-Paris link seems to have been restored. After having postponed three trips planned on the island between October 2022 and January, the Minister of the Interior had resolutely turned to the future, on February 6. “It is time to inaugurate, together, the beginning of the sequel. Yes it is time to write a new page in the history of Corsica », he had launched, on the occasion of the commemoration of the 25th anniversary of the assassination of the prefect Claude Erignac. Inviting its island interlocutors to “building lasting peace”he had mentioned the commitment of the President of the Republic.
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