The Corsican mafia is a collective of criminal groups originating from

Corsica Corsica ( , , ; ; ) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the Regions of France, 18 regions of France. It is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of the Metro ...

. The Corsican mafia is tied to both the French underworld and the Italian organized crime groups. The Corsican mafia is an influential

organized crime Organized crime is a category of transnational organized crime, transnational, national, or local group of centralized enterprises run to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally thought of as a f ...

structure operating in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, as well as

North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...

n and

Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...

n countries.

History

The Union Corse and the French Connection era

The pre-war

crime boss A crime boss, also known as a crime lord, mafia don, mob boss, kingpin, or godfather is the leader of a criminal organization. Description A crime boss has absolute or nearly absolute control over the other members of the organization and is ...

es of

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

, Paul Carbone and François Spirito, collaborated closely with the Milice in

Vichy France Vichy France (; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was a French rump state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II, established as a result of the French capitulation after the Battle of France, ...

and the Nazi

Gestapo The (, ), Syllabic abbreviation, abbreviated Gestapo (), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of F ...

in Occupied France. In

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the Corsican mafia led by the (Antoine and Barthélémy, nicknamed "Mémé") sided with the anti-communist SFIO faction within the

French Resistance The French Resistance ( ) was a collection of groups that fought the German military administration in occupied France during World War II, Nazi occupation and the Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy#France, collaborationist Vic ...

. In 1947,

was the main trading port of the

French colonial empire The French colonial empire () comprised the overseas Colony, colonies, protectorates, and League of Nations mandate, mandate territories that came under French rule from the 16th century onward. A distinction is generally made between the "Firs ...

and it had a Communist mayor, Jean Christofol, who was backed by the labour unions for longshoremen, transportation workers, and dockworkers. In the coming

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

, both the center-left French government and the US fought against Soviet influence in Marseille, while covertly employing illegal means to further that goal: the Guerini gang was employed to disrupt union and electoral gatherings, back strikebreakers and support US-funded anti-Soviet labor unions. From the 1950s to the 1960s, the Guerini brother were exempt from prosecution in Marseille. The Guerini brothers smuggled opiates from French Indochina using the Messageries Maritimes, a French merchant shipping company. From the 1960s to the early 1970s the major Corsican

groups were collectively termed the '' Unione Corse'' by American

law enforcement Law enforcement is the activity of some members of the government or other social institutions who act in an organized manner to enforce the law by investigating, deterring, rehabilitating, or punishing people who violate the rules and norms gove ...

. During the same era, they organized the French Connection, a massive

heroin Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a morphinan opioid substance synthesized from the Opium, dried latex of the Papaver somniferum, opium poppy; it is mainly used as a recreational drug for its eupho ...

trafficking operation based in Marseille that sold to the

American Mafia The American Mafia, commonly referred to in North America as the Italian-American Mafia, the Mafia, or the Mob, is a highly organized Italian-American criminal society and organized crime group. The terms Italian Mafia and Italian Mob apply to ...

The Corsican mafia today

The end of the French Connection caused the disbandment of Corsican clans involved in the heroin trade. However, the evolution of the Corsican mafia has continued its several illegal activities (hold-ups, racketeering,

casino A casino is a facility for gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shops, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos also host live entertainment, such as stand-up comedy, conce ...

s, illegal slot machines, various drug dealing and

prostitution Prostitution is a type of sex work that involves engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, no ...

). From the 1980s, the Corsican mafia, which operated mainly outside Corsica, refocused partly on its native island. From then on, it continued to increase its influence. It was in these years in particular that the Brise de Mer gang was born, which would subsequently become one of the largest criminal groups in Corsica and France. Since the end of the 2000s, violent internal conflicts troubled the Corsican mafia, resulting in around 102

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse committed with the necessary Intention (criminal law), intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisd ...

s on the island of Corsica. Today, the Corsican mafia consists of multiple families, allies, and rivals. Known groups in the Corsican mafia are the Venzolasca Gang (nickname in reference to the village of Venzolasca, in northern Corsica, which are from key members of the gang), considered the Brise de Mer successors. The Petit Bar Gang of Ajaccio and the Corsican mob of

are also active. Corsica has a tradition of banditry and criminality similar to the Italian Mezzogiorno, with a multitude of criminal groups made up of a few members to a few dozen members. 25 are awarded according to a 2022 report. Their links with political and economic circles are important, as is their hold on the territory with the racket. Violence is frequent, Corsica is the region of Europe with the highest homicide rate per inhabitant. The mafia chief François Chiappe, who inspired '' The French Connection'', died in

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

at the age of 88 due to senile dementia in 2009. On February 26, 2025, the president of the Corsican island region Gilles Simeoni, presented 30 measures to combat Corsican organized crime before the Corsican Regional Assembly.

Notable groups

* Gang de la Brise de Mer * Petit Bar Gang * Unione Corse

Notable Corsican gangsters

* Paul Carbone * Marcel Francisci * François Marcantoni * Paul Mondoloni * Auguste Ricord * Lucien Sarti * François Spirito

In popular culture

* The French film '' A Prophet'' (2009) shows the gradual rise of a young prisoner, cornered by the leader of the Corsican gang who rules the prison. * The French television series '' Mafiosa'' references a Corsican gang led by a woman. * In the film '' American Gangster'', the Corsican mafia attempt to murder Frank Lucas after he puts them out of business through his

monopoly A monopoly (from Greek language, Greek and ) is a market in which one person or company is the only supplier of a particular good or service. A monopoly is characterized by a lack of economic Competition (economics), competition to produce ...

on the

trade. * Mireille Bouquet from the anime series '' Noir'' (2001) is a surviving member of a family once involved with the Corsican mafia. * An extensive French study called "Les Parrains Corses" by J. Follorou and V. Nouzille explains the history of the Corsican mafia. * Ian Fleming's

James Bond The ''James Bond'' franchise focuses on James Bond (literary character), the titular character, a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels ...

novel '' On Her Majesty's Secret Service'' is set against a background of Union Corse activities. * In the Japanese manga and anime '' Banana Fish'' by Akimi Yoshida, a fictionalized version of the Corsican mafia is heavily featured as the villain. In modern times (1980s for the manga and 2010s for the anime) it is run by an international Corsican Foundation and funded by prostitution, money laundering, tax evasion, government corruption, and the focus of the show is on their drug experimentation.