Pè a Corsica

Pè a Corsica
Gilles Simeoni
Headquarters	Corsica
Ideology	Corsican nationalism
Political position	Centre-left
Corsican Assembly	24 / 51
Politics of France Political parties Elections

Pè a Corsica is a Corsican nationalist political party in France. It calls for more autonomy for Corsica based on its different culture and language from the rest of mainland France. The party is led by the autonomist Gilles Simeoni. In the French regional elections, 2015 it won 24 of 51 seats.

Background

The Corsican nationalism movement has calls for the sovereignty of the island as a nation. This follows the history of Corsica and the French conquest of Corsica. Following years of violence by the FLNC (stopped in 2014), the 2003 Corsican referendum on increased devolution failed by a narrow majority. The Corsican language is also labeled as a "definitely endangered language" by UNESCO.

History

Pè a Corsica is a coalition (led by Simeoni) of the two Corsican nationalist parties active on the island, being the autonomist Femu a Corsica and the separatist Corsica Libera (which won respectively 17,62% and 7,73% of the vote in the first round of the 2015 French regional elections.)

In December 2015, violent protests occurred in Ajaccio's poor neighbourhood of Jardins de l'Empereur following an attack on firefighters who were ambushed in a false flag call. The following day, a Muslim prayer hall in the area was burned with at least part of a Quran set on fire. Though protests were banned until at least 4 January 2016, protests continued in the following days.

President of the Corsican Assembly Jean-Guy Talamoni blamed the "imported" ideology of the National Front and claimed the protests and arson were anethema to Corsican nationalism, which had established the Corsican Republic. He also said the perpetrators tended to support the National Front and were not nationalists. In response the National Front issued a statement that read "the unacceptable violence which shook Ajaccio on 25 December is the unfortunately expected consequence of lax and weak politics, which leaves neighbourhoods to become no-go areas where representatives of the emergency services are assaulted daily." Corsica's administrator Christophe Mirmand said: "This behaviour must stop. It hurts Corsica's image." Bishop of Ajaccio Olivier de Germay condemned the violence, stating that "those who commit violent acts in the name of the Christian faith are fooling themselves."

Electoral performance

In the December French regional elections, 2015 in Corsica, Pè a Corsica won 24 of 51 seats. Mayor of Bastia Gilles Simeoni won the election with 35.34% of the vote. Jean-Guy Talamoni, leader of Corsica Libera, said: "It’s been a 40-year-long march to arrive here. Corsica is not just a French administrative constituency – it’s a country, a nation, a people."