2022 Corsica unrest
In March 2022, the island of Corsica, France, saw protests in response to a prison attack on nationalist leader Yvan Colonna.[1][2] There were rallies in the main cities of Ajaccio, Calvi and Bastia that descended into violent clashes between police and protestors.[3][4] Protestors threw stones and flares at gendarmes.[5]
Contents
Background
Yvan Colonna was a Corsican nationalist who was arrested in 2003 for the 1998 murder of Corsican prefect Claude Érignac. Colonna is a hero among many Corsicans, and has become a symbol of Corsican nationalism. On March 2, 2022, a jihadist inmate started stabbing Colonna in his prison cell, seriously injuring the latter and sending him into a coma. His attack sparked the series of riots in Corsica.[6] Colonna died at hospital of his wounds on 21 March 2022, at the age of 61, three weeks after being attacked.[7]
Events
On 9 March, windows were smashed and the courthouse of Ajaccio was set on fire. A bank was also damaged with a hijacked mini excavator.[8] On 10 March, many projectiles were thrown at police outside a Calvi government building.[9] The same night cars were set on fire in downtown Ajaccio.[10]
Rioting flared up again on March 13, when 7,000-12,000 protesters marched in the streets in defence of Colonna. The protests spiralled into riots, and police officers sprayed demonstrators with tear gas and water cannons as rioting continued. Rioters in Bastia attacked numerous infrastructure, including the local post office and a tax office. Police officers said that 67 people had been injured in total; 44 of them were members of the police.[6]
Response
President of the Executive Council of Corsica Gilles Simeoni said that the attack on Colonna was an assassination attempt, and called for the Castex government to respond.[11][12] Due to the unrest affecting the upcoming campaign for the presidential election and parliamentary election, the French government is reportedly considering giving autonomy to Corsica.[13][14]
On 21 March, in Sardinia at the French consulate of Sassari there were demonstrations of solidarity by exponents of Sardinian independence.[15]
References
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