A demonstration, organized six months after the death in prison of Corsican nationalist activist Yvan Colonna, brought together some 150 people in Bastia on Wednesday, September 21 and was marred by clashes between the police and a few dozen demonstrators, according to an AFP correspondent. .
This small gathering, on the initiative of the youth movement of the independence party Corsica Libera, aimed to demand the recognition of the Corsican people, the release of political prisoners and to demand "
justice for Yvan Colonna
".
Read alsoIn Corsica, nationalists keep up the pressure
After a calm start to the demonstration, tension rose between around thirty demonstrators and the CRS, with Molotov cocktails fired at the police who responded with tear gas.
A French flag was burned and a banner "
status francese assassinu
" ("
French state assassin
" in Corsica, editor's note) was also deployed on the gates of the prefecture.
A few hours earlier, the police had intercepted five to six bags containing painter's outfits and hammers, transported by a group of young people who fled, we learned from the Bastia prosecutor's office.
The death of Yvan Colonna had provoked several weeks of often violent protests in Corsica last winter.
Many Corsicans believe that the activist would not have been fatally attacked in his prison in Arles, where he was serving a life sentence for the assassination of the prefect Erignac, if he had been transferred to an island prison, as he had been asking for it for a long time.
Read alsoMobilization in support of Yvan Colonna: why Corsican youth is at the forefront of the protest
Since then, the government has started discussions with Corsican elected officials on the future of the Corsican community.
This summer, Gérald Darmanin had argued that there would be "
no taboo
" during these consultations, in particular on an evolution towards autonomy, while setting two red lines: a Corsica which remains "
in the Republic
" and not to create "
two types of citizens
" on the island.
The Minister of Justice, Éric Dupond-Moretti, is expected in Ajaccio then Bastia on Thursday and Friday.
