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Corsican nationalism is a
nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Th ...
movement in Corsica that advocates more autonomy for the island, if not outright
independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...
from
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
.


Political support

The main separatist party, Corsica Libera, achieved 9.85% of votes in the 2010 French regional elections. However, only 19% and 42% of those who voted respectively for Gilles Simeoni's autonomist list '' Femu a Corsica'' and Jean-Guy Talamoni's separatist '' Corsica Libera'' were, according to
polling Poll, polled, or polling may refer to: Figurative head counts * Poll, a formal election ** Election verification exit poll, a survey taken to verify election counts ** Polling, voting to make decisions or determine opinions ** Polling places o ...
, in favour of independence. By 2012, polls showed support for independence at 10-15%, while support for increased devolution within
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
was as high as 51% (of which two-thirds would prefer "slightly more" rather than "much more" autonomy). Among the general French population, 30% of respondents expressed a favourable view on Corsican independence. In what was viewed as a "setback" for Nicolas Sarkozy's decentralisation program, the government's proposal for increased autonomy for Corsica was turned down in a referendum in 2003 by a result of 51% negative and 49% affirmative votes expressed by the local electorate. In 2015, Simeoni's pro-autonomy coalition '' Pè a Corsica'' won for the first time ever in the French regional elections, getting 35.34% of the vote and 24 out of 51 seats in the Corsican Assembly. In the 2017 elections for the Corsican Assembly, their majority was reinforced, ''Pè a Corsica'' got 56.46% of the votes and 41 seats. In 2017, in the legislative elections, three nationalists from ''Pè a Corsica'' were elected to the French National Assembly, out of the four members elected in Corsica: Paul-André Colombani in Southern Corsica, Michel Castellani and Jean-Félix Acquaviva in
Upper Corsica Haute-Corse (; co, Corsica suprana , or ; en, Upper Corsica) is (as of 2022) an administrative department of France, consisting of the northern part of the island of Corsica. The corresponding departmental territorial collectivity merged w ...
.


History


Corsican Republic (1755–1769)

A sense of Corsican particularity can be traced back to the mid-18th century, when the island was fought over by the
Genoese Republic The Republic of Genoa ( lij, Repúbrica de Zêna ; it, Repubblica di Genova; la, Res Publica Ianuensis) was a medieval and early modern maritime republic from the 11th century to 1797 in Liguria on the northwestern Italian coast. During the La ...
and the
Kingdom of France The Kingdom of France ( fro, Reaume de France; frm, Royaulme de France; french: link=yes, Royaume de France) is the historiographical name or umbrella term given to various political entities of France in the medieval and early modern period ...
.
Pasquale Paoli Filippo Antonio Pasquale de' Paoli (; french: link=no, Pascal Paoli; 6 April 1725 – 5 February 1807) was a Corsican patriot, statesman, and military leader who was at the forefront of resistance movements against the Genoese and later ...
led a rebellion by Corsicans against the various foreign powers contesting the island, founding a short-lived independent state governed from Corte. Inspired by the Enlightenment political ideas currently becoming fashionable in Europe, Paoli set up a liberal constitutional republic: a deliberative assembly, the Diet, was elected through
universal manhood suffrage Universal manhood suffrage is a form of voting rights in which all adult male citizens within a political system are allowed to vote, regardless of income, property, religion, race, or any other qualification. It is sometimes summarized by the slo ...
, with evidence to suggest that female suffrage also existed. Paoli's practical exercise in Enlightened
constitutional government A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these princip ...
was inspired by thinkers such as
Voltaire François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778) was a French Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher. Known by his ''nom de plume'' M. de Voltaire (; also ; ), he was famous for his wit, and his criticism of Christianity—es ...
and
Rousseau Jean-Jacques Rousseau (, ; 28 June 1712 – 2 July 1778) was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Age of Enlightenment throughout Europe, as well as aspects of the French Revolu ...
, but also in turn inspired them, being the sole example of their political philosophies put into practice until the
American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...
a decade later. The French conquest of 1767 put an end to the experiment (with the exception of a brief British-governed separation from France during the
French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars (french: Guerres de la Révolution française) were a series of sweeping military conflicts lasting from 1792 until 1802 and resulting from the French Revolution. They pitted France against Britain, Austria, Prussia ...
), and the island was incorporated into the Kingdom of France. The memory of the brief period of self-rule would act as an inspiration to later regionalist and nationalist movements, even as many among Corsica's educated elites accepted a place in the French state, with
Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader wh ...
becoming the French head of state less than thirty years after the island was conquered by France.


Fin-de-siècle and the interwar (1890–1940)

As with most European
nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Th ...
and separatist movements, the 1890s saw the first stirrings of a consciousness of a distinct regional way of life, and the first ideas that regional culture should be reflected in distinct political institutions. With Corsica in an agricultural depression, misruled by powerful local political bosses, subject to mass emigration devastating rural communities, and increasingly confronted by the culture of the French state (which was encouraging
cultural assimilation Cultural assimilation is the process in which a minority group or culture comes to resemble a society's majority group or assume the values, behaviors, and beliefs of another group whether fully or partially. The different types of cultural ass ...
and administrative centralisation, through the establishment of the countrywide laic school system), stirrings began of a movement to defend the Corsican language and way of life. The first group to do so formed in 1896 around the newspaper ''La Tramontana'' ('Beyond the Mountains'), but this small group of intellectuals remained a minority within the political landscape of the time. A new generation carried the torch with the foundation of ''A Cispra'' newspaper in 1914, which made the first demands for a Corsican political separatism: "''Corsica is not a department of France. It is a nation that has been conquered and will rise again.''" It was
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
that generated an audience for these previously marginal ideas. Conscription affected agrarian communities more than industrial ones, and the death-toll for France's rural regions was consequently higher than the national average, with Corsica the department with the highest ratio of casualties per capita: the trauma of losing a dozen young men in a small village caused many Corsicans to begin to question the French state. For some this prompted a desire for greater administrative decentralisation ''within'' the French Republic (this was the focus of the Estates-General of Corsica, a 1934 conference held in Ajaccio); for a few, it triggered a desire to work towards an independent Corsican state; and for yet others it, along with the perception that neighbouring Italy was being regenerated under a dynamic modern regime, prompted a desire to integrate into Fascist Italy. These different ideas were centred on the Corsican nationalist newspaper ''A Muvra'' (The
Moufflon The mouflon (''Ovis gmelini'') is a wild sheep native to Cyprus, the Caspian region from eastern Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Iran. It is thought to be the ancestor of all modern domestic sheep breeds. Taxonomy ''Ovis gmelini'' was the sci ...
). Hostility to the French state grew following military operations on the island in 1930 to root out the popular bandit, Spada. 1923 saw the foundation of the ''Partitu Corsu d'Azione,'' under the leadership of Petru Rocca, an
Italian irredentist Italian irredentism ( it, irredentismo italiano) was a nationalist movement during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries in Italy with irredentist goals which promoted the unification of geographic areas in which indigenous peoples ...
who initially promoted the union of Corsica to the
Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy ( it, Regno d'Italia) was a state that existed from 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Sardinia was proclaimed King of Italy, until 1946, when civil discontent led to an institutional referendum to abandon the monarchy and f ...
, and Pierre Dominique, a prominent political journalist who soon after joined France's ruling centre-left Radical-Socialist Party. World War Two modified this sentiment, as Italian troops occupied the island: after the war the sentiment evolved in favour of promoting changed to promote Corsican decentralisation, via the new ''Partitu Corsu Autonomista''. Rocca in 1953 demanded from France the acceptance of the Corsican people and language and the creation of the ''University of Corte''. Corsican nationalism was a minority movement during these decades, and many Corsicans participated in the French state as administrators, soldiers, policemen and several cabinet ministers; indeed during the interwar some of the most prominent political figures within France's countrywide political organizations were Corsicans (see
Jean Chiappe Jean Baptiste Pascal Eugène Chiappe (3 May 1878 – 27 November 1940) was a high-ranking French civil servant. Chiappe was director of the ''Sûreté générale'' in the 1920s. He was subsequently given the post of Préfet de police in the 19 ...
, Horace Carbuccia,
François Piétri François Piétri (8 August 1882 – 17 August 1966) was a minister in several governments in the later years of the French Third Republic and was French ambassador to Spain from 1940 to 1944 under the Vichy regime. Born in Bastia, Corsica to Anto ...
,
Cesar Campinchi Cesar, César or Cèsar may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''César'' (film), a 1936 film directed by Marcel Pagnol * ''César'' (play), a play by Marcel Pagnolt * César Award, a French film award Places * Cesar, Portugal * Ce ...
,
Gabriel Péri Gabriel Péri (Peri) (9 February 1902 — 15 December 1941) was a prominent French Communist journalist and politician, and member of the French Resistance. He was executed in Nazi-occupied France during World War II. Early life Péri was ...
). However, the work of the smaller intellectual, cultural and political groups formed the prehistory to the modern nationalist movement that would find a mass audience after the political crisis of 1958.


Corsica in the 1960s

The end of the 1950s saw the high point of Corsica's population and economy. Since the end of the 19th century, Corsica had continued to decrease in population, culminating in a precarious economic situation and a huge delay in the development of industry and infrastructure. Corsican society was then further affected by three events: *The first was the collapse of the French Colonial Empire. The Colonial Army and colonial enterprises were the principal form of employment for Corsicans. In 1920, Corsicans made up 20% of colonial administration, despite only making up 1% of Metropolitan France's population. The end of colonialism deprived young Corsicans of the opportunities of their elders and forced many to return to the island. This situation resulted in the emergence of a regionalist movement with the objective of increasing the number of opportunities for the islanders. During the uprisings in Algeria in 1958 and 1961, Corsica was the only French ''départment'' that joined the insurgent colonists. *The second shock was the arrival of people returning from the former African colonies, French citizens but not always of Corsican ancestry, to whom the state controversially granted land in the fertile eastern plain. At the beginning of the 1960s, before the arrival of returnees from Algeria, they represented around 10% of the island's population. *The third involved France's nuclear programme, in the context of the Cold War. In 1960 French leaders Charles de Gaulle and
Michel Debré Michel Jean-Pierre Debré (; 15 January 1912 – 2 August 1996) was the first Prime Minister of the French Fifth Republic. He is considered the "father" of the current Constitution of France. He served under President Charles de Gaulle from 195 ...
sought to develop a nuclear arms testing site in the abandoned silver mines of Argentella (Balagne). This provoked a significant protest movement across the island, which was successful in convincing the French government to abandon nuclear testing on the site, later carried out in French Polynesia. The episode was key in the development of the nationalist movement: first, in generating a sense of distrust towards the French state; second, in demonstrating what islanders could achieve through campaigning; and third by politicising the new generation who would go on to lead the nationalist movement for the remainder of the twentieth century, notably Edmond Simeoni. For this reason, modern Corsican nationalism has retained strong links to the broader Green movement.


Origins of the modern regionalist movement

Many Corsicans began to become aware of the demographic decline and economic collapse of the island. The first movement appeared as the ''Corsican Regional Front'', a group largely formed by Corsican emigrants in Paris. This evolved into ''Corsican Regionalist Action'', which demanded that the French state take into account the island's economic difficulties and distinct cultural characteristics, notably linguistic, greatly endangered by the demographic decline and economic difficulty. These movements caused a major revival of the Corsican language, and an increase in work to protect and promote Corsican cultural traditions. But these movements felt that their demands were being ignored and saw the state's treatment of the returnees as a sign of contempt. They argued against the idea that Corsica was made up of "virgin land" where there is no need to consult the local population on repatriation, and criticised the financial support and aid received by the new arrivals through the Society for Agricultural Development of Corsica (SOMIVAC), which had never been offered to the Corsicans.


Aléria incident and birth of the FLNC

In a situation that many considered dire, the group Corsican Regionalist Action (ARC) (fr) decided to choose more radical methods of action. On 21 August 1975, twenty members of the ARC, led by the group's leader Edmond Simeoni, occupied the Depeille wine cellar, in the eastern plains near
Aléria Aléria (; Ancient Greek: /, ; Latin and Italian: ; co, U Cateraghju) is a commune in the Haute-Corse department of France on the island of Corsica, former bishopric and present Latin Catholic titular see. It includes the easternmost point in M ...
. Equipped with rifles and machine guns, they wanted to bring to public attention the economic situation of the island, particularly that regarding agriculture. They denounced the takeover of lands in the east of the island by " pieds-noirs" and their families. The French Interior Minister at the time,
Michel Poniatowski Michel Poniatowski (16 May 1922 – 15 January 2002) was a French politician, member of a legitimized line of Poland's princely Poniatowski family. He was a founder of the Independent Republicans and a part of the administration for President ...
, sent 2,000 CRS and
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, " ...
backed with light armoured vehicles, and ordered an attack on the 22nd at 4pm. Two gendarmes were killed during the confrontation. A week later the cabinet ordered the dissolution of the ARC. The tension rose rapidly in
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 ...
and scuffles broke out in the late afternoon, which turned to riots by nightfall that included armed confrontation. One member of the ARC was killed and many were wounded. On 4 May 1976, some months after the events in Aléria, nationalist militants founded 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 ...
(FLNC), a joining of the ''Fronte Paesanu di Liberazone di a Corsica'' (FPCL), responsible for the bombing of a polluting Italian boat, and ''Ghjustizia Paolina'', reputed to be the armed wing of the ARC. The founding of this new group was marked by a series of bombings in Corsica and in mainland France. A press conference was held in Casabianca, the location of the signing of the Corsican Constitution and where
Pasquale Paoli Filippo Antonio Pasquale de' Paoli (; french: link=no, Pascal Paoli; 6 April 1725 – 5 February 1807) was a Corsican patriot, statesman, and military leader who was at the forefront of resistance movements against the Genoese and later ...
declared Corsican independence in 1755. Although claiming to be influenced by Marxist ideology, most separatist leaders have been from the nationalist right or apolitical backgrounds.


Themes of Corsican nationalism

*Political sovereignty of Corsica: independence from France or increased autonomy in France. Separation from France is partially based on cultural and ethnic differences between the island and the mainland. The imposition of a
revolutionary tax Revolutionary tax is a major form of funding for violent non-state actors such as guerrilla and terrorist organizations. Those outside the organization may consider it to be a euphemism for "protection money."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 ...
, etc. But greater in number are the bombings of second homes belonging to foreigners and mainlanders. *The promotion of the Corsican language, and its compulsory teaching in schools. *The limiting of tourist infrastructure and policies promoting tourism, and in its place another way to boost economic development. *Compliance with building permits. *Compliance with coastal law. *Recognition of political prisoner status for imprisoned members of the FLNC, including those who have been convicted for
common-law In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tribunals by virtue of being stated in written opinions."The common law is not a brooding omnipresen ...
violations.


Corsican nationalism and international investment

The Corsican coast is less developed than mainland France's Mediterranean coast, due in part to bombings attributed to the nationalist movement against a number of second homes belonging to non-natives. ''U Rinnovu'', a Corsican nationalist movement commonly referred to as being close to a splinter group of the FLNC known as "of 22nd October", describes the construction of second homes for the benefit of non-residents as "heresy" and "against economic sense". The slogan ''Vergogna à tè chì vendi a tò terra'' ("Shame on you who sell your land") is also the title of a song and nationalist anthem. At the Matignon process under the Jospin government, Article 12 of the Matignon Accords provided for an adjustment of the coastal law making it easier to issue building permits on the Corsican coast. On the day of the discussion of this article in the
Corsican Assembly The Corsican Assembly ( co, Assemblea di Corsica; french: L'Assemblée de Corse) is the unicameral legislative body of the territorial collectivity of Corsica. It has its seat at the , in the Corsican capital of Ajaccio. After the 2017 territ ...
, activists from the organisation ''A Manca Naziunale'' surrounded the villa of André Tarallo of the French petroleum company
Elf Aquitane Elf Aquitaine is a French brand of oils and other motor products (such as brake fluids) for automobiles and trucks. Elf is a former petroleum company which merged with TotalFina to form "TotalFinaElf". The new company changed its name to Total in ...
in Piantaredda, against the granting of contested building permits. The article was subsequently rejected.


Notable people and parties

;Parties * Corsica Libera (political party) * Pè a Corsica (political party, defunct) *
FLNC 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, s ...
(militant group) *
Party of the Corsican Nation The Party of the Corsican Nation ( co, Partitu di a Nazione Corsa, PNC) is a Corsican nationalist and autonomist political party on the French island of Corsica. It was founded in Corte in 2002 by members of three nationalist parties, Union of the ...
(political party) * * A Cuncolta Naziunalista (militant group, defunct) ;People * Leo Battesti (b. 1953) *
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 ...
(1960–2022), notable member of 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 ...
. * Gilbert Casanova, founder of the Movement for Self-determination (MPA) and ex-president of the Corse-du-Sud Chamber of Commerce, imprisoned in 2008 for drug trafficking. * Edmond Simeoni (1934–2018), considered the father of modern Corsican regionalism and nationalism. *
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 ...
(b. 1967), son of the former and the first president of the Corsican regional executive council (regional government). *
Pasquale Paoli Filippo Antonio Pasquale de' Paoli (; french: link=no, Pascal Paoli; 6 April 1725 – 5 February 1807) was a Corsican patriot, statesman, and military leader who was at the forefront of resistance movements against the Genoese and later ...
(1725–1807), leader of the
Corsican Republic In November 1755, Pasquale Paoli proclaimed Corsica a sovereign nation, the Corsican Republic ( it, Repubblica Corsa), independent from the Republic of Genoa. He created the Corsican Constitution, which was the first constitution written in I ...
(1755–1769), considered the father of the Corsican nation. *
Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
Bonaparte (1769–1821), French military leader and statesman whose family had been passionate Corsican nationalists, as he was in his younger years.


See also

*
Sardinian nationalism Sardinian nationalism or also Sardism (''Sardismu'' in Sardinian; ''Sardismo'' in Italian) is a social, cultural and political movement in Sardinia calling for the self-determination of the Sardinian people in a context of national devolutio ...


References


Bibliography

*Jean-Louis Andreani, ''Comprendre la Corse'', Gallimard, 2005 *
Daniel Arnaud Daniel is a masculine given name and a surname of Hebrew origin. It means "God is my judge"Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 68. (cf. Gabriel—"God is my strength" ...
, ''La Corse et l'idée républicaine'', L'Harmattan, 2006 *Emmanuel Barnabeu Casanova, ''Le nationalisme corse : genèse, succès et échec'', L'Harmattan *Ange-Laurent Bindi, ''Autonomisme. Luttes d'émancipation en Corse et ailleurs 1984-1989'', L'Harmattan *Gabriel Xavier Culioli, ''Le complexe corse'', Gallimard *Marc de Cursay, "Corse : la fin des mythes", L'Harmattan *Pascal Irastorza, ''Le guêpier corse'', Fayard, 1999 *Marianne Lefèvre, ''Géopolitique de la Corse. Le modèle républicain en question'', L'Harmattan *Jean-Michel Rossi / François Santoni, ''Pour solde de tout compte, les nationalistes corses parlent'', Denoël *Pierre Poggioli, ''Journal de bord d'un nationaliste corse'', Éditions de l'Aube, 1996 *Pierre Poggioli, ''Corse : chroniques d'une île déchirée 1996-1999'', L'Harmattan, 1999 *Pierre Poggioli, ''Derrière les cagoules : le FLNC des années 80'', DCL Editions *Edmond Simeoni, ''Corse, la volonté d'être. Vingt ans après Aléria'', Albiana *Bonardi Fabrice, ''Corse, la croisée des chemins'', L'Harmattan, 1989


External links


Les plumes du paon
: Site with many sources, including much unpublished material regarding the Corsican question
Corsican-Myths
Mirror site of the site above, totally translated in English with new unpublished material regarding the Corsican question and more

: Corsican nationalist website presenting a number of analyses explaining action against villas on the Corsican coast
Corsica Nazione Indipendente
: Website of Corsican nationalist movement {{Ethnic nationalism