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Corse / Corsica

French President Emmanuel Macron proposed granting a degree of autonomy to Corsica, seeking to “turn a page marked by sombre hours” in the Mediterranean island scarred by decades of conflict with Paris. His long-awaited overture sets in motion a protracted and complex push for constitutional reform that is littered with obstacles.

“Let us have the audacity to build a Corsican autonomy within the Republic,” Macron said in the 28 September 2023 speech, extending an “outstretched hand” in the chamber dominated by Corsican nationalists, some of whom advocate independence from France. He offered scant detail about the degree of autonomy he had in mind, though warning that any devolved powers for the Mediterranean island must be agreed with the French state – and not “against” it.

The French president set a six-month deadline for the government and Corsican political parties to agree on a proposed revision to the Constitution, which would then be examined by parliament in Paris. Macron’s decision to endorse autonomy signaled an “extremely significant development” in the Corsican standoff, said John Loughlin, a research fellow at Blackfriars Hall, Oxford and an expert in French regional politics. “Autonomy has traditionally been a taboo term and topic, seen as undermining the unity of the French Republic,” he said. “But in recent years we have seen attitudes change, with some politicians opting for a more flexible attitude towards autonomy.”

Corsican nationalists won more than two-thirds of seats in local regional assembly elections in 2021. “When 70% of voters back some form of autonomy from Paris, the government cannot act like nothing happened,” noted Thierry Dominici, a political analyst and Corsica expert at the University of Bordeaux in southwest France.

President Emmanuel Macron’s government said 16 March 2022 it was open to discussing “autonomy” for Corsica in a bid to calm days of violent protests on the Mediterranean island with just weeks to go before France’s presidential election. Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin dropped the A-word as he set off for a two-day visit to Corsica, two weeks after a violent assault on a jailed Corsican nationalist triggered a wave of unrest on the île de Beauté (island of beauty). “We are ready to go as far as autonomy. There you go, the word has been said,” Darmanin told regional newspaper Corse Matin, treading ground that has long been regarded as taboo in France’s highly centralised republic. “The talks (on autonomy) will necessarily be long and difficult,” he later told BFMTV, adding that, whatever the result, Corsica's “future is fully within the French republic”.

Darmanin’s visit follows repeated outbreaks of violence at protests triggered by a savage prison attack on Yvan Colonna, one of a group of Corsican nationalists jailed for the 1998 murder of Corsica’s prefect, the island’s top official, Claude Erignac. The interior minister said the convicted killer had been attacked by a jihadist fellow inmate after reportedly making “blasphemous” comments at their jail in Arles, in southern France. He described the assault, which left Colonna in a coma, as “clearly a terrorist act”. Colonna, who had been jailed for life, died 21 Mrch 2022 in hospital in the southern French city of Marseille.

Colonna’s five years on the run – hiding as a shepherd in the Corsican scrubland long romanticised as a hideout for patriots and bandits – had turned him into a symbol of the island’s defiance towards the French state, and his death in custody triggered a furious response. Thousands of protesters marched through towns and cities across the island, holding up banners that read Statu Francese Assassinu ("The French state is an assassin") and I Francesi fora ("Out with the French"). Youths clashed with police and targeted French symbols, fanning fears of a return to the violence and bloodshed that scarred the island from the 1970s to the turn of the century.

Aside from the return of Corsican prisoners, nationalists have long clamoured for greater powers for the island and recognition of Corsican as an official language. Such demands remain highly sensitive in France, where politicians routinely tout the need to protect the country’s unity and national identity. After decades of violent struggle, Corsica’s nationalists have embraced the democratic process over the past decade, hoping to advance their cause by peaceful means. But experts warned that patience was wearing thin amid mounting frustration at the lack of progress.

France is divided into 22 metropolitan regions, including the "territorial collectivity" of Corse or Corsica. The mere fact that Corsica was the birthplace of the great Napoleon affords a reason for some interest, but to most the island is regarded mainly as the home of Napoleon and Vendetta. The historian of mediaeval Rome (Gregorovius) in his delightful account of his wanderings in Corsica, quotes Seneca's bitter accusation against the inhabitants of the country in which he spent eight years: "Their first law is to revenge themselves, their second to live by plunder, their third to lie, and their fourth to deny the gods."

A range of mountains, with numerous branches, traverses the whole extent of the island, and, near the middle, rises to such an elevation, that the snow remains on the summits during the greater part of the year. The monte Rotondo and the monte d'Oro (from 8 to 9000 feet in height) are covered with perpetual snows. This chain of mountains consists, in part, of precipitous rocks, and is, in part, overspread with forests. A number of small rivers, of which the Golo alone is navigable, flow easterly and westerly into the sea. Most of these frequently become dry in summer. The eastern coast is more flat than the western, on which are most of the inlets of the sea. The climate is mild, since the heat of the sun is rendered leas oppressive by the high mountains and sea breezes. The air, in many parts of the island, owing to the many lakes of stagnant water, is unhealthy. The soil is very fertile, particularly in the vallevs and near the coast.

The history of Corsica is as striking as its scenery. Seneca, the Roman philosopher, who was banished thither in AD 41, and remained for eight years in the island, remarks, in his book " De Consolatione," that darkness covers the annals of the original inhabitants. Until the first Punic war, the Carthaginians were masters of this island. They were succeeded by the Romans. In later times, Corsica was, for a long time, under the dominion of the Vandals, and afterwards passed successively into the hands of the Greek emperors and the Goths. In 850, the Corsicans were conquered by the Saracens, who held them in subjection until the beginning of the 11th century; at which ume they fell under the domimon of Pisa. In 1284, this island submitted to the dominion of the Genoese, who had before, in 806, subdued it, but were unable to retain possession of it for a long time. The conquered subjects of a distant republic have rarely been well treated by their masters; who, devoid of the quasipaternal feelings of a royal dynasty, appear to have generally thought of nothing but extorting the largest possible profit from their rule. The long domination of the Genoese over Corsica seems to have been more oppressive and hateful than the long domination of the Venetians over the Ionian Isles.

Exasperated by the oppressions of the Genoese government during 400 years, the Corsicans took up arms, in 1729, and, since that time, never submitted to the Genoese. Genoa called in the imperial forces in 1730, and the French, in 1738, to their assistance. In 1736, baron Theodore von Neuhof, a Westphalian, so won the affections of the Corsicans, that they elected him king, under the name of Theodore I. He left them, upon the landing of the French, to seek for foreign aid. The French evacuated the island, on the breaking out of the German war, in 1741, and another insurrection took place.

In 1755, the Corsican senate appointed Pascal Paoli their general, who conducted their affairs with so much success, that the Genoese, even with the assistance of the troops of the French garrisons (after 1764), were able to retain in their possession only a few maritime towns, with the capital, Bastia, and renounced the hope of ever bringing the island again into subjection. They, therefore, in 1768, abandoned these places to France, by a treaty, which Spinola and the duke of Choiseul concluded at Paris, in which it was stipulated, that the king of France should reduce the island, and govern it until the republic should repay the expenses of the war. This convention was a mere subterfuge to deceive the English, and to save the senate from the reproach of a sale.

The French thought that the subjugation of Corsica could be effected by a small military force; but Paoli, in the expectation of assistance from England, made so spirited a resistance, that the expedition soon cost the French 30,000,000 livres, although they had gained no important advantages. The number of the French troops was afterwards increased, so that they amounted to 30,000 men, under the marshal de Vaux. England still remained inactive; and, in several actions, the Corsicans were so unmindful of their duty, that Paoli, in despair, gave up all thoughts of resistance, and, in June 1769, fled to England, where he was supported by a pension from the king. A partisan warfare was, however, maintained in the mountains until 1774.

At the time of the French revolution, Corsica was incorporated with France, as a separate department, and sent deputies to the national convention. Paoli now returned to his native land; but the terrorists required his presence at Paris, where he would inevitably have been put to death. He therefore unfurled the banner of the Death's head (the old Corsican arms), and summoned his countrymen to his standard. With the assistance of the English, who landed Feb. 18, 1794, he reduced Bastia, May 22, and Calvi, Aug. 4.

The Corsicans submitted to the British sceptre, in a general convention of deputies, at Corte, June 18, 1794. Corsica was constituted a kingdom, under the government of a viceroy (Elliot); the constitution and laws of England were adopted; and a parliament, such as Ireland had, was established. But a large part of the people were averse to the English, whom they regarded as heretics, and the French party again appeared on the island, in Oct, 1796, under general Gentili. Sickness rendered the situation of the English very critical: their power was still further weakened by the reduction of the neighboring city of Leghorn, by the French, in 1796; and, in consequence, they evacuated Corsica.

Corsica was neglected by the greatest and most celebrated of her sons, and that she owed her public works and modern progress to the Second and not to the First Empire. Napoleon was always desirous, from motives of policy, to keep his Corsican origin in the background, as he proved, on his accession to power in France, by deliberately misspelling his family name of Buonaparte, writing; it in the more French form — Bonaparte.

Since 1811, the island has formed a French department, of which Bastia is the capital. The revenue received from the island by France, in 1821, amounted only to 500,000 francs, while the administration of it cost the crown, yearly, the sum of 3,000,000 francs. In the early 19th Century it was said that "The Corsicans are still nearly in a state of nature. The majority of them are Italians, and profess the Catholic religion. Industry is unknown. Even the most necessary mechanics are wanting: each one makes for himself almost every thing he has need of. Their habitations, furniture and clothing are miserable, and there is a great want of good seminaries for education. Valor, love of freedom, indolence, and desire of revenge, are the characteristics of the Corsicans." As late as the year 1822, the prefect of Corsica, in a pamphlet, urged the French government to legalize the practice of duelling there, because the quarrels of the inhabitants often became hereditary feuds.

Ever since its final annexation, Corsica had always been treated as an integral part of France, just as the Isle of Wight was an integral part of England. It always sent its representatives to the national legislature at Paris, and formed a department administered by a prefect appointed by the central executive. As in all the other departments of France, there was also a freely elected conseil geniral, analogous to the new county councils in England, and with similar powers and duties. Nothing in the nature of "Home Rule," in the Irish sense of the phrase, existed in Corsica, nor was it desired by any section of the inhabitants.

Vvendetta (vengeance), the term used to denote the practice, as it prevailled in Corsica even in the late 19th Century, of individuals taking private vengeance upon those who have shed the blood of their relations. In Corsica, when a murder has been committed, the murderer is pursued not only by the officers of justice whose duty it is to punish offences against society, but also by the relatives of the slain, upon whom the received views of social duty impose the obligation of personally revenging his death. In such a case, the relatives of the murdered man take up their arms, and hasten to pursue, and if they can find him, to slay, the murderer. If he succeed in eluding their pursuit, the murder may be revenged upon hii relatives ; and as the vengeance may be taken whenever an opportunity occurs, the relatives of a , murderer whose crime is unavenged have to live in a state of incessant precaution. When they go to the fields, they take their arms with them, and set a watch ; at home, they have their doors well fastened, and their windows barricaded; and since the avenger is never far distant, they live, in fact, in a state of siege. Instances are on record of persons who were, as the phrase is, 'suffering the vendetta,' having lived shut up in their houses for 10 or 15 years, and being, after all, shot on the first occasion on which they ventured out of doors.

The Corsican was brought up to regard the vendetta as the most sacred duty of man. The women instigated the men to revenge by singing songs of vengeance over the body of the slain, and displaying his blood-stained garments. Often a mother affixed to her son's dress a bloody shred from the dead man's shirt, that he may have a constant reminder of the duty of taking vengeance. Although the vendetta usually had its origin in bloodshed, smaller injuries may give rise to it, and even purely casual occurrences.

Brigandage prevailled to a great extent in Corsica, and the origin of the career of a brigand, in almost every instance, could be traced to the vendetta. A man committed a murder out of vengeance; he fled to the hills; it never was safe for him to resume his former life again, and so he turned robber for a living. Besides the vendetta, properly so called, hereditary family feuds were very common in Corsica; and sometimes there were hereditary feuds between whole villages. The great families of the island handed down feuds from generation to generation, in which not only themselves and all their relatives, but all their servants and dependants were involved — the kind of feud which was common in the Italian towns of the middle ages, and which is illustrated in the play of Romeo and Juliet.

The most conspicuous example of the old Corsican vendetta may, perhaps, be said to have been shown in the deadly lifelong grapple between Napoleon and his Corsican contemporary the famous Pozzo di Borgo. In youth they had been personal enemies in their native isle. It has been truly written of Pozzo di Borgo: "In the service of England, Austria, and Russia, alike in exile and in power, he made the downfall of Napoleon the one constant aim of his existence ; he meddled in every intrigue and in every coalition, patiently took up the threads of one negotiation after another, as they were cut by the sword, and carried into the great struggle of European politics the untiring inveteracy of his native vendetta. Napoleon once demanded his extradition, and Alexander assented; but the diplomatist remembered the fate of Patkul, and escaped to London. He stood opposed to his great enemy at Waterloo, and witnessed that unequalled rout with all the satisfaction of a gratified hatred. 'It was not I that killed him,' he said, after Napoleon's embarkation for St. Helena; 'but I have thrown the last shovelful of earth on his head.'"

The vendetta of Corsica — about which so much has been written — was analogous to the vendetta which formerly prevailed in Maina (the ancient Laconia) and in other parts of Greece; in Albania; and among other wild mountaineers divided into jealous and often hostile clans. It existed in full force in the Highlands of Scotland down to a comparatively recent period. Macaulay (History of England, chap, xviii.) gives several instances of the savage ferocity of the vendetta among the Highlanders ; and elsewhere observes that the English tourist, visiting the scenes of some of Montrose's battles, relates that "Here the Royalists fought the Rebels;" while the Highland peasant on the spot states, with more true appreciation, "Here the Grahams fought their hereditary foes the Campbells." By the late 19th Century the ancient vendetta between rival clans and families was almost as extinct in Corsica as in Scotland. A mediaeval state of society nowhere survives the introduction of roads and railways.

The origin of the vendetta has often been referred to the lawlessness which prevailed in many parts of Corsica during the period of the Genoese domination, and to the venality which vitiated the Genoese administration of justice. And, no doubt, the insecurity and the mal-administration of justice which existed in Corsica for ages, helped to consolidate this barbarous custom; which, thus consolidated, was perpetuated by the isolated position of the country, and the absence of civilising influences. But the explanation of its origin must be sought in more general causes, for it is not exclusively a Corsican custom. On the contrary, it may be safely affirmed that a system of private vengeance, almost precisely similar, has existed among every people during certain stages of its progress — never entirely passing away until government became strong enough to insure redress of injuries, and to restrain the passions of individuals.

In the late 20th Century, for over three decades a wave of low-scale terrorism and its spillover to the French mainland never reached alarming levels by today’s standards. Only dozens of people have been killed as a result of various attacks during the entire span of the uprising. Nevertheless, Corsica remained a security issue for the French Government. After decades of low-intensity conflict, it was necessary for a permanent solution to be found for Corsica. As France’s new president and someone who had dealt with Corsica in the past, former Interior Minister Nikolas Sarkozy knew the features and dynamics of this conflict and its national and regional repercussions if no solution or a flawed solution is reached. What complicated the conflict was the overwhelming desire of Corsica’s population to remain part of France in opposition to the separatist groups.

In 2003, the French Government called for a referendum in Corsica, asking the locals for their opinion on what Corsica’s future should be. Specifically, it asked voters whether they would accept a new territorial assembly and an executive body that would manage more of the island’s affairs. Less than 20 percent of Corsica’s population of 260,000 wanted full independence from France; however, few dare open opposition to the warring separatist groups. It was apparently necessary, however, to give the island some kind of self-government while cracking down on separatist leaders committed to violence.

In the early 1980s groups of Corsican "nationalist" singers, with names like "I Muvrini [The Goats]," would go about the little towns on the island toscratch on their guitars and sing. These more or less folkloric groups were singing in Corsican, and all the mainlanders were applauding - not knowing that what they were singing in Corsican was that "all the French were going to be killed." Once the songs were over, they would pass thehat around and got good money with which to buy explosives. The whole thing resembled a Mediterranean farce.

By 1984 the Association for a French and Republican Corsica [CFR] had 30,000 members and was organizing marches throughout the whole island, which gathered amazing crowds (3,000 peoplein Calvi, 6,000 in Porto Vecchio, 8,000 in Bastia and 10,000 in Ajaccio). In short, the operation had been launched. There were tens of thousands of Corsicans who were organizing to counteract the few thousand Corsicans who would like to create an undoubtedly independent people's republic.

France has a long-standing experience of resisting separatism and extremism on its territory, above all in the Mediterranean island of Corsica. The Corsican national groups clashed with the French army in the middle 1970s. The Corsican Nationalist Union and the Movement for Self-Determination were the biggest and most influential among these groups. Both had combat units. The whole policy of the Mitterrand government was aimed at pleasing the self-government advocates. Firstly, the amnesty freed the terrorists; then, the State Security Court was abolished; finally, and most importantly, the "special status" was launched. The island's status was upgraded twice - in 1982 and 1990 the local authorities were given increasingly broad powers in the economy, agriculture, energy industry, transportation, education, and culture.

In the 1980s the government wanted to "Corsicanize" the island's jobs. It seemed a harmless and almost normal thing to do. It made sense that a Corsican postman would prefer a job on his island to one elsewhere. When the concept was examined, however, this simple "Corsicanization of jobs" expression demanded an administrative definition of the word "Corsican." Will it be enough to have a name ending in "i" to be able to demand a job on the Island of Beauty? Obviously not. It would then be necessary to define "Corsican citizenship" in order to know who can or cannot benefit from the Corsicanization of jobs. There would therefore be Corsicans and Frenchmen.

The government wanted to facilitate the teaching of the Corsican language. This is what those who were nationalist (Corsican) were demanding in the 1970s. Their demand was that Corsican (a pretty dialect without much culture) be made compulsory in the island. The government was seized with such an "anti-French" zeal in Corsica that, on 30 November 1983, it proposed to form a "commission for the Corsicanization of the toponomy of the island's principal towns." Until then, it was a nocturnal activities for those who were called "terrorists" to deface the road signs with white paint, changing the names from Ajaccio to Aiacciu, Corte to Corti, etc.

Voters on the French Mediterranean island of Corsica headed to the polls Sunday 03 December 2017 for the first round of territorial elections, with a nationalist ticket projected to score big. The campaign might not have attracted much attention but for the Spanish region of Catalonia, where independence aspirations have grabbed world headlines and turned attention to other autonomy-minded regions.

Candidates from seven political lists were on the ballot. But the main nationalist ticket, Pe a Corsica (For Corsica), was surging. The elections aimed to fuse Corsica's two administrative territories into one, but they were about much more than bureaucracy. They were expected to solidify the power of Corsica executive council head Gilles Simeoni and other nationalists, who won elections in 2015 for the first time, refueling centuries-old independence dreams — at least for some Corsicans. Catalonia's example had given them another reason to hope.

The outcome was widely expected to pose a new challenge to President Emmanuel Macron who will have to decide whether to cede some control or maintain France's tradition of highly centralised government. The governing Pe a Corsica (For Corsica) alliance -- made up of the pro-autonomy Femu a Corsica (Let's Make Corsica) and pro-independence Corsica Libera (Free Corsica) -- won 45 percent in a first round of voting. They were expected to extend their gains in the final round on 10 December 2017 that would see them dominate a new regional assembly which would begin its work at the start of 2018.

The leaders of Pe a Corsica have stressed throughout that their short-term goal is greater autonomy, rather than independence from France -- not least because the mountainous island is dependent on state spending. They have formulated three core demands: they want equal recognition for the Corsican language along with French and an amnesty for convicts they consider to be political prisoners. They also want the state to recognise a special Corsican residency status -- which would be used to fight against property speculation fuelled by foreigners snapping up holiday homes.

Opinion polls show that most of Corsica's 330,000 residents, many of whom live off seasonal tourism or are employed in the public sector, want to remain in France. Corsica receives a lot of subsidies from the French government, and Corsica is a special situation concerning taxes. And many Corsicans don't want to lose that. Corsica's main economic lifeline, tourism, is highly dependent on mainland France.