Paris, Sept. 28, (dpa/GNA) – French President Emmanuel Macron raised the possibility of greater autonomy for Corsica during an address to the island’s parliament in Ajaccio on Thursday.
“Let us be bold enough to create autonomy for Corsica within the republic,” Macron said. He emphasized that the aim was autonomy “not against the state nor without the state.”
The French president outlined a proposal for fundamental change in relations between Paris and Ajaccio with agreement planned within six months.
Macron said he backed entrenching Corsican identity in the French constitution as demanded by Corsican nationalists. Corsican authorities should also have greater powers, and the Corsican language be taught more, he said.
Relations have long been problematic. Corsican separatists fought for decades for greater independence, often by violent means.
The FLNC underground movement laid down its arms in 2014, as more moderate nationalists gained greater political significance. They currently hold a majority in the regional parliament and are calling for autonomous status.
Tensions rose sharply following the death in a French prison of Corsican nationalist Yvan Colonna in March last year. Colonna was attacked by a fellow prisoner while serving a sentence for the murder of the French prefect of Corsica in 1998.
Protests erupted on the island. The government in Paris has for months been engaged in talks with Corsican representatives on a new relationship.
GNA