Corsican nationalists hope to win their first political victory in the National Assembly on Thursday. Unpublished fact, the deputies examine, in the hemicycle, a proposal aiming to ban matches of football of national competition on May 5. A way to pay tribute to the 18 people killed and 2,357 spectators injured on May 5, 1992, after the collapse of a grandstand hastily installed in the Furiani stadium, near Bastia (Haute-Corse), a few minutes away of the semi-final of the Coupe de France between SC Bastia and Olympique de Marseille.
To read also: May 5, 1992 in Furiani: "And then suddenly the drama"
The text, carried by the Bastian deputy Michel Castellani and presented by the group Liberties and Territories, is likely to be adopted. Already supported in Le Figaro by 135 artists, sportsmen and political figures, it benefits from the support of La République en Marche (LREM), majority at the Palais Bourbon, and the communist group. "The Republic must recognize, in an intangible and definitive way, that Corsica has been struck by a national drama" , judges the "walker" of Corsican origin Bruno Questel, co-signatory of the text.
No group opposed to the text
On the benches of the Assembly, none of the other groups (Les Républicains, UDI, PS, MoDem) called to oppose the text. Deputies have, however, questioned the relevance of going through the law when the text went to committee, where the proposal was adopted on February 5. Elected MoDem and socialists have said they prefer to impose a minute of silence before each match organized on May 5. For its part, the Professional Football League (LFP) fears to be embarrassed in the organization of competitions and wishes to strengthen the commemorations.
Read also: Furiani drama: 135 personalities call for no more football matches on May 5
Insufficient, judge the defenders of the ban, in unison with the Victims' Collective. All point the sprains at the promise that no match would be played on May 5 - François Mitterrand had announced it the day after the drama - or on Saturday May 5, according to the 2015 agreement between the Ministry of Sports and the sporting bodies. “This is not a local news item, but a national drama. The respect for the victims and the idea we have of sport depends on it , ” judges the elected autonomist Michel Castellani.
From isolation to revenge
His claim is not recent. Barely elected to the National Assembly, the first Corsican nationalist deputies in history, Michel Castellani, Jean-Félix Acquaviva and Paul-André Colombani, had tabled a text to this effect. Co-signed by Marine Le Pen as well as by a handful of LREM and Les Républicains deputies, the bill had paid the price for the isolation of the three elected officials, without allies. Integrated into the Liberties and Territories group since autumn 2018, with the related advantages - speaking time, financial means - they are taking their revenge. And want to force the Minister of Sports to adopt a position.
Read also: In the Assembly, Corsican nationalists are no longer "devils"
Asked last April about the abolition of any national meeting on May 5, Roxana Maracineanu was very hesitant. "I don't necessarily have an opinion on the question," she replied on BFMTV last April. Before explaining on Twitter: "Don't play to remember, play by commemorating, I don't have the perfect solution". Before the deputies, Thursday, the minister will have to decide.
