European Central: Macron Proposes Autonomy For Corsica
Pier Marco Tacca
For a nation that prides itself on unity, President Macron proposing autonomy for Corsica is a significant development. The move would seek to resolve Corsica’s calls for independence which started almost 300 years ago. There has also been violence on the island since Yvan Colonna was killed in prison, who was a firm supporter of independence for the island. Interestingly enough according to one poll, 30 percent of people in mainland France support independence for Corsica, potentially because of the negative stereotypes of Corsica. For some French, Corsica is viewed as an island of bandits and slackers. One Corsican in particular however plays a significant role in French history, even if he may not be the most important historical figure for Corsicans themselves.
Corsica’s Infamous Resident
One of the most famous Frenchman, Napoleon Bonaparte himself is Corsican. He was born in Ajaccio on August 15, 1769 to a family of Tuscan nobility origins who had emigrated to Corsica. While one of the most famous conquerors, Napoleon originally attempted to assist in preserving Corsica’s independence from France. Napoleon at first attempted to resist French occupation under Pasquale Paoli, but when Paoli fled the island, Napoleon accepted France’s authority over Corsica. Paoli to this day is viewed as a hero by Corsicans. For years Napoleon viewed himself as an outsider in France, even though he was educated in the mainland.
Napoleon’s struggle with his identity can be explained by Corsica’s history. Besides his family’s Tuscan roots, Corsica was part of the republic of Genoa from 1284 until 1767, when it sold the island to France. Corsica since 1729 was already attempting to become independent from Genoa and did not easily accept being ruled by France. There have been people pushing for Corsica’s independence since 1729, including Yvan Colonna.
Death of Yvan Colonna
Yvan Colonna was famous for being a pro-independence activist for Corsica. Until his death last year, he resided in the Arles prison, serving a life sentence for assassinating Corsican prefect Claude Erignac. Last year, he was murdered in prison. There is also controversy over whether or not Yvan Colonna is responsible. In 1999, Several men stated he was the gunman, yet later claimed that the French police forced them to identify Colonna as the man responsible for Claude Erignac’s murder. Colonna remained on the run hiding in the rugged terrain of Corsica for four years until he was eventually caught. His time in hiding in the Corsican countryside only built support for him amongst Corsicans who viewed him as a symbol of defiance against France. Most Corsicans do not support the assassination of Erignac yet also feel France turned Colonna into a scapegoat in order to claim to have found the responsible party.
The National Front for the Liberation of Corsica which pushes for Corsican independence stopped using violence as a means to advocate for its goal in 2014, yet called for violence once again after Colonna’s murder in prison. The group claimed responsibility in the Corse-Matin newspaper for a dozen explosions that occurred this month on October 8th and 9th, primarily targeting construction sites and vacation homes. These attacks are in response to Macron’s offer of autonomy.
Corsican language Banned In Regional Parliament
A point of contention recently in Corsica has been the Corsican language. A French court ruled that Corsican cannot be used in the regional parliament based on the French constitution due to the national constitution which only lists French as the language of the nation in the second article. While considered an important aspect of the region’s cultural identity, France has a history of discouraging French citizens from speaking any language other than French. France has still not ratified the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, even after 30 years since the treaty came into force.
For years France pushed French as the only language in the nation and ignored over twenty spoken regional languages, until legislation in 2021. The legislation is entitled May 21 2021 Law intended to protect and promote regional languages and give each regional language a “national treasure”. The law is not perfect yet at least 23 regional languages are officially recognized. The downfall is that the French court ruling in Corsica clearly shows that this official status does not mean much since this status is not enshrined in the French constitution.
The Corsican language (known as Corsu) is currently considered to be in danger of extinction by UNESCO and only has 150,000 speakers, yet the island has a population of 350,000. The dialect is considered to be close to standard Italian, which makes sense given the island’s history. The language was originally transmitted only orally, and a written form did not exist until the late 1800s. Corsu is not standardized and it varies widely throughout the island. The three main variants are: lingua suttana, lingua mizana and lingua suprana. Co-officiality is considered important for Corsu to flourish in the future, otherwise it will be limited to language courses and continue to disappear from everyday use on the island. This would require France to change its national constitution.
Conclusion
Autonomy for Corsica is not a step towards the division of France. Instead, it would help preserve the unity of the nation. Recognizing that unique regional cultures exist does not mean that a unified French identity does not exist simultaneously. Corsica’s history makes it unique from other regions of France and failing to recognize this will continue to fuel movements demanding independence. Simultaneously, autonomy will be difficult to sell to all Corsicans as there is anger over centuries of repression of the region’s identity by the French state. Tensions between France and Corsica have built up for over 250 years, and Macron will not be able to defuse the situation overnight.
