The National Liberation Front of Corsica ( co, Fronte di liberazione naziunale di a Corsica or ; french: Front de libération nationale corse,

abbreviated An abbreviation (from Latin ''brevis'', meaning ''short'') is a shortened form of a word or phrase, by any method. It may consist of a group of letters or words taken from the full version of the word or phrase; for example, the word ''abbrevia ...

FLNC) was a militant group that advocates an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

state on the

island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

of Corsica, separate 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 ...

. The organisation was primarily present in Corsica and less so on the French mainland. '' A Conculta Naziunalista'' was often considered to be the political wing of the organisation. Typical militant acts by the FLNC were bombings aimed at public buildings, banks, tourist infrastructures,

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

buildings and other perceived French symbols, in addition to aggravated assault against civilians, armed

bank robbery Bank robbery is the criminal act of stealing from a bank, specifically while bank employees and customers are subjected to force, violence, or a threat of violence. This refers to robbery of a bank branch or teller, as opposed to other bank- ...

, and

extortion Extortion is the practice of obtaining benefit through coercion. In most jurisdictions it is likely to constitute a criminal offence; the bulk of this article deals with such cases. Robbery is the simplest and most common form of extortion, ...

against private enterprises through so-called "

revolution In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...

ary

tax A tax is a compulsory financial charge or some other type of levy imposed on a taxpayer (an individual or legal entity) by a governmental organization in order to fund government spending and various public expenditures (regional, local, or n ...

es". The attacks were usually performed against buildings and the island's infrastructures, but it was also not uncommon for the FLNC to have individual people as targets, such as

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 ...

who was killed in 1998. Corse signalisation

History

Foundation and objectives

The FLNC was created from a merger of ''Ghjustizia Paolina'' and the ''Fronte Paesanu Corsu di Liberazione'', the two largest Corsican armed organizations. It was an offshoot of the

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or p ...

''A Cuncolta Independentista'' which had members 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 ...

and some support among the locals. The FLNC carried out its first attacks on the night of 4 May 1976 with 21 bombs exploding in Ajaccio,

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 ...

Sartène Sartène (; co, Sartè ; it, Sartena or ) is a commune in the department of Corse-du-Sud on the island of Corsica, France. Its history dates back to medieval times and granite buildings from the early 16th century still line some of the ...

Porto-Vecchio Porto-Vecchio (, ; it, Porto Vecchio or ; co, Portivechju or ) is a commune in the French department of Corse-du-Sud, on the island of Corsica. Porto-Vecchio is a medium-sized port city placed on a good harbor, the southernmost of the mars ...

and other Corsican towns. The majority of the targets were public buildings and offices of estate agents. On 5 May the FLNC formally announced its existence when it issued a bilingual manifesto which also claimed responsibility for the previous night's attacks. The manifesto contained six demands: * The recognition of the National Right of the Corsican people. * The removal of all instruments of

French colonialism The French colonial empire () comprised the overseas colonies, protectorates and mandate territories that came under French rule from the 16th century onward. A distinction is generally made between the "First French Colonial Empire", that existe ...

– including the

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (french: Armée de Terre, ), is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces. It is responsible to the Government of France, along with the other components of the Armed Force ...

and colonists. * The setting up of a popular democratic government which would express the will and the needs of the Corsican people. * The confiscation of "colonial" estates. * Agrarian reform to fulfill the aspirations of farmers, workers and intellectuals and rid the country of all forms of exploitation. * The right to self-determination of the Corsican people.

2014 to present

In 2014, the organisation announced the cessation of its armed struggle, which they confirmed again in 2016. Nevertheless, a number of minor splinter groups have so far emerged and are still active.http://www.corsematin.com/ta/vescovato/205162/corse-deux-membres-d-un-flnc-unifie-revendiquent-l-attentat , Two members of a unified FLNC claimed the attack, ''Corse Matin, '' 10 August 2009 The FLNC warned in 2016 that any attacks on Corsica by

ISIL An Islamic state is a state that has a form of government based on Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a translation of the Arabic term ...

will be met with swift retaliation.

Armed campaign

Notes

References

* * *

External links

Corsican nationalist website, mostly in French, with a lot of information about the FLNC
{{DEFAULTSORT:National Liberation Front Of Corsica Corsican nationalism Paramilitary organizations based in France Separatism in France Secessionist organizations in Europe National liberation movements Terrorism in France Banned secessionist parties