2022 Corsica unrest

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2022 Corsica unrest
Part of Corsican conflict
Yvan protest 2022.webp
Scene of disorder. A flag of Corsica is planted in the centre, and an image of Yvan Colonna on the right
Date9 March – 10 April 2022 (1 month and 1 day)
Location
Corsica
Caused byBeating and death of Corsican nationalist Yvan Colonna in prison
Methods Protests, rioting, arson
Parties
Casualties and losses
25 injured
77 injured

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 2 March 2022, a Cameroonian jihadist inmate started beating 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. [8] A bank was also damaged with a hijacked mini excavator. [9] On 10 March, many projectiles were thrown at police outside a Calvi government building. [10] The same night cars were set on fire in downtown Ajaccio. [11]

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 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] The number was later revised to 102 injuries in total with 77 police injuries. [12]

The National Liberation Front of Corsica announced on 16 March that they supported the demonstrators and that a last straw would result in an insurrection that could renew their militant campaign against the French government. [12]

On 21 March, Colonna died of his injuries. While protests erupted, the demonstrations were more peaceful and no riots occurred. [13] Tensions continued and French authorities put Corsica on "maximum riot alert". [14]

On 28 March, a rally was held in front of riot police barracks near Bastia. [15]

On 7 April 2022, two villas in Canale-di-Verde and Ghisonaccia were set on fire. Investigators found a tag in the Canale-di-Verde house written with the words "For Yvan." [16] [17]

A few days later, a villa in Chevano, Pianottoli-Caldarello was destroyed. The walls were vandalized with phrases such as "Per tè Yvan," "IFF (I Francesi Fora)" and "Fora 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. [18] A house in Conca was burned the next day with similar messages found on the scene. [19]

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. [20] [21] 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. [22] [23]

On 21 March, there were demonstrations of solidarity by exponents of Sardinian independence at the French consulate of Sassari. [24]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Corse-du-Sud</span> Department in Corsica, France

Corse-du-Sud is an administrative department of France, consisting of the southern part of the island of Corsica. The corresponding departmental territorial collectivity merged with that of Haute-Corse on 1 January 2018, forming the single territorial collectivity of Corsica, with territorial elections coinciding with the dissolution of the separate council. Although its administrative powers were ceded to the new territorial collectivity, it continues to remain an administrative department in its own right. In 2019, it had a population of 158,507.

Founded in the mid-1980s, the Corsican Workers’ Trade Union, an offshoot of the island's nationalist movement, quickly became the island's most popular organization for workers on the island. Besides agitating for the economic agenda one would expect of a labour union the STC has an agenda pushing for greater cultural autonomy from France.

Armata Corsa was an underground separatist terrorist organization in Corsica, founded in 1999 and disbanded around 2001.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Corsica</span> Island and administrative region of France

Corsica is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the 18 regions of France. It is the fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of the French mainland, west of the Italian Peninsula and immediately north of the Italian island of Sardinia, which is the land mass nearest to it. A single chain of mountains makes up two-thirds of the island. As of January 2023, it had a population of 351,255.

Bernard Bonnet, French civil servant, is best known for being the first prefect since World War II to be convicted of an offense committed in the course of his duties, his role in the "Affair of the beach huts".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yvan Colonna</span> Corsican nationalist assassin (1960–2022)

Yvan Colonna was a Corsican nationalist convicted for the assassination of Claude Érignac, the Prefect of Corse-du-Sud, in 1998. He was beaten to death in prison by a jihadist inmate, which led to the 2022 Corsica unrest.

Claude Jean Pierre Érignac was a French prefect on the island of Corsica.

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Pietrosella is a French commune in the department of Corse-du-Sud, on the island of Corsica.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Corsican nationalism</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">2015 Corsican protests</span> 2015 violent clashes in Corsica

The 2015 Corsican protests were a series of marches by several hundred Corsican nationalists that began on 25 December, in Ajaccio, capital of Corsica. During the initial demonstrations, a Muslim prayer hall was burned down and Qur'ans were set alight. Further protests were organised after the initial march despite a government ban on protests until 4 January 2016. The protesters claimed to be acting in revenge for an incident that occurred the day prior when firefighters and police were assaulted in the neighbourhood of Les Jardins de l'Empereur; however, outside observers labeled the ensuing riots as anti-Arab and anti-Muslim. The Corsican nationalist politicians have claimed their view does not legitimise xenophobia, blaming the protest on French nationalism instead. Scholarly opinions on this claim are divided.

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The 2017 Corsican territorial elections were held on 3 and 10 December 2017 to elect 63 members of the Corsican Assembly, who in turn determined the composition of the Executive Council of Corsica. The election was held only two years after the 2015 territorial elections, and were called as a result of the planned creation of a single collectivity within Corsica resulting from the mergers of two departments, and the existing territorial collectivity of Corsica.

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References

  1. ↑ Coffey, David (10 March 2022). "Protests intensify in Corsica one week after prison attack on separatist leader Colonna". Radio France Internationale . Retrieved 13 March 2022.
  2. ↑ "Riots shake Corsica over assault of jailed nationalist figure". France 24. Agence France-Presse. 10 March 2022. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
  3. ↑ "Riots shake France's Corsica over assault on jailed nationalist". Al Jazeera . Retrieved 13 March 2022.
  4. ↑ "Corsica protests turn to riots over assault of jailed nationalist Yvan Colonna". France 24. 10 March 2022. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
  5. ↑ Ajaccio, Agence France-Presse in (10 March 2022). "Clashes in Corsica after prison attack on nationalist figure". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
  6. 1 2 "Riots in Corsica over jailed nationalist leave dozens injured". RFI. 14 March 2022. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  7. ↑ "Yvan Colonna: Corsican nationalist dies after jihadist jail attack". BBC. 21 March 2022.
  8. ↑ "Corsica's Ajaccio court on fire during Yvan Colonna riots". uk.finance.yahoo.com. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
  9. ↑ "Manifestations en soutien à Yvan Colonna : nouvelle soirée de tensions en Corse". France Bleu (in French). 9 March 2022. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
  10. ↑ "Protesters Throw Projectiles at Police Outside Corsica Government Building". uk.movies.yahoo.com. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
  11. ↑ "Cars Set Alight as Protests Continue on Corsica". uk.style.yahoo.com. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
  12. 1 2 "France may offer Corsica 'autonomy' as it struggles to quell protests". the Guardian. 16 March 2022. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  13. ↑ "Macron calls for calm after death of jailed Corsican nationalist". the Guardian. 22 March 2022. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  14. ↑ Allen, Peter (22 March 2022). "Corsica on riot alert as nationalist Yvan Colonna dies after prison attack". Evening Standard . Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  15. ↑ "Corsica: Tense rally near riot police barracks". euronews. 28 March 2022. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
  16. ↑ https://www.ouest-france.fr/corse/mort-d-yvan-colonna-incendie-volontaire-d-une-maison-deja-visee-deux-fois-et-taguee-per-yvan-b5ec1c14-b660-11ec-b116-e879225002a2 (in French)
  17. ↑ "Ghisonaccia : une résidence secondaire visée par un attentat". France 3 Corse ViaStella (in French). Retrieved 22 April 2022.
  18. ↑ "Pianottoli : une résidence secondaire détruite par un incendie criminel". France 3 Corse ViaStella (in French). Retrieved 22 April 2022.
  19. ↑ "Conca : deux maisons visées par des incendies criminels en deux nuits". France 3 Corse ViaStella (in French). Retrieved 22 April 2022.
  20. ↑ "Gilles Simeoni: «Nous ne sommes pas à l'abri d'un embrasement généralisé en Corse»". LEFIGARO (in French). 11 March 2022. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
  21. ↑ "Corse : l'autonomiste Gilles Simeoni appelle le gouvernement à « ouvrir un véritable dialogue »". Le Monde.fr (in French). 11 March 2022. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
  22. ↑ "French government floats Corsican 'autonomy' as unrest jolts election campaign". France 24. 16 March 2022. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  23. ↑ Samuel, Henry (16 March 2022). "France considering giving Corsica 'autonomy' as violent protests sweep island". The Telegraph. ISSN   0307-1235 . Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  24. ↑ "Il vento indipendentista spazza di nuovo la Corsica". La Nuova Sardegna (in Italian). 21 March 2022. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
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