In March 2022, the island of Corsica, France, saw protests in response to a prison attack on nationalist leader

Yvan Colonna Yvan Colonna ( co, Ivanu Colonna, ; 7 April 1960 – 21 March 2022) was a French Corsican nationalist convicted for the assassination in 1998 of the prefect of Corse-du-Sud, Claude Érignac. He was beaten to death in prison by a jihadist inmate ...

. There were rallies in the main cities of Ajaccio, Calvi and

Bastia Bastia (, , , ; co, Bastìa ) is a commune in the department of Haute-Corse, Corsica, France. It is located in the northeast of the island of Corsica at the base of Cap Corse. It also has the second-highest population of any commune on the is ...

that descended into violent clashes between police and protestors. Protestors threw stones and flares at

gendarmes Wrong info! --> A gendarmerie () is a military force with law enforcement duties among the civilian population. The term ''gendarme'' () is derived from the medieval French expression ', which translates to "men-at-arms" (literally, " ...

Background

was a Corsican nationalist who was arrested in 2003 for the 1998 murder of Corsican prefect

Claude Érignac Claude Jean Pierre Érignac (; 15 December 1937 – 6 February 1998) was a French prefect on the island of Corsica. Érignac was born in Mende, Lozère. In the course of his political career, he had been prefect of several departments an ...

. Colonna is a hero among many Corsicans, and has become a symbol of

Corsican nationalism Corsican nationalism is a nationalist movement in Corsica that advocates more autonomy for the island, if not outright independence from France. Political support The main separatist party, Corsica Libera, achieved 9.85% of votes in the 2 ...

. On 2 March 2022, a Cameroonian

jihadist Jihadism is a neologism which is used in reference to "militant Islamic movements that are perceived as existentially threatening to the West" and "rooted in political Islam."Compare: Appearing earlier in the Pakistani and Indian media, Wes ...

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. Colonna died at hospital of his wounds on 21 March 2022, at the age of 61, three weeks after being attacked.

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. On 10 March, many projectiles were thrown at police outside a Calvi government building. The same night cars were set on fire in downtown Ajaccio. Rioting flared up again on 13 March, 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 Tear gas, also known as a lachrymator agent or lachrymator (), sometimes colloquially known as "mace" after the early commercial aerosol, is a chemical weapon that stimulates the nerves of the lacrimal gland in the eye to produce tears. In ...

and

water cannon A water cannon is a device that shoots a high-velocity stream of water. Typically, a water cannon can deliver a large volume of water, often over dozens of meters. They are used in firefighting, large vehicle washing, riot control, and mining ...

s as rioting continued. Rioters in Bastia attacked numerous infrastructure, including the local

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional ser ...

and a tax office. Police officers said that 67 people had been injured in total; 44 of them were members of the police. The number was later revised to 102 injuries in total with 77 police injuries. The

National Liberation Front of Corsica The National Liberation Front of Corsica ( co, Fronte di liberazione naziunale di a Corsica or ; french: Front de libération nationale corse, abbreviated FLNC) was a militant group that advocates an independent state on the island of Corsica, se ...

announced on 16 March that they supported the demonstrators and that a last straw would result in an

insurrection Rebellion, uprising, or insurrection is a refusal of obedience or order. It refers to the open resistance against the orders of an established authority. A rebellion originates from a sentiment of indignation and disapproval of a situation and ...

that could renew their militant campaign against the French government. On 21 March, Colonna died of his injuries. While protests erupted, the demonstrations were more peaceful and no riots occurred. Tensions continued and French authorities put Corsica on "maximum riot alert". On 28 March, a rally was held in front of riot police barracks near

. On April 7, 2022, two

villa A villa is a type of house that was originally an ancient Roman upper class country house. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the fall of the Roman Republic, villas became s ...

s in

Canale-di-Verde Canale-di-Verde (French form) or Canale di Verde (, ) is a commune in the French department of Haute-Corse, collectivity and island of Corsica. Administration Since 2015, Canale-di-Verde is part of the canton of Castagniccia, together with 36 ...

and Ghisonaccia were set on fire. Investigators found a tag in the Canale-di-Verde house written with the words "''For Yvan''." A few days later, a villa in Chevano,

Pianottoli-Caldarello Pianottoli-Caldarello (; ; co, Pianottuli è Caldareddu) is a commune in the Corse-du-Sud department of France on the island of Corsica.

was destroyed. The walls were vandalized with phrases such as "''Per tè Yvan''," "''IFF''" and "''For a Francia!!!''" Additional messages on the building showed that the attack was claimed by a group named the ''Action des jeunes pour la renaissance de la Corse'' or AJRC. A house in Conca was burned the next day with similar messages found on the scene.

Response

President of the Executive Council of Corsica

Gilles Simeoni Gilles Simeoni (, ; born 20 April 1967) is a lawyer in France and a politician. He was mayor of Bastia from 2014 to 2016 and has been president of the executive council of Corsica since 2015. Notably, Simeoni served as the Corsican nationalist ...

said that the attack on Colonna was an assassination attempt, and called for the

Castex government The Castex government (French: ''Gouvernement Castex'') was the forty-second government of the French Fifth Republic, formed on 3 July 2020 and headed by Jean Castex as Prime Minister under the presidency of Emmanuel Macron. It was dissolved on 1 ...

to respond. Due to the unrest affecting the upcoming campaign for the

presidential election A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The pre ...

and

parliamentary election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

, the French government is reportedly considering giving autonomy to Corsica. On 21 March, there were demonstrations of solidarity by exponents of Sardinian independence at the French consulate of Sassari.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Corsica unrest, 2022 March 2022 events in France 2022 protests 2022 riots Ajaccio History of Corsica Riots and civil disorder in France March 2022 crimes in Europe Arson in the 2020s