Masked gunmen have warned people to “stay at home” and threatened second-home owners in a popular Mediterranean holiday hotspot. The warning targets people moving to Corsica, a French island popular with tourists for its beaches, historic villages and cuisine.
Around a dozen armed and hooded members of the Corsican National Liberation Front-Union of Combatants (FLNC-UC) appeared in a video released on Thursday, with machine guns visible. The separatist group, which wants independence for Corsica from France, directed its warning at people moving to the island and those buying second homes.
Separatist threat
One man, believed to be the group’s leader, said: “Until our national rights are recognised and respected, we have only one message for them: stay at home.” The FLNC-UC also said people who buy second homes in Corsica “shouldn’t feel safe” and described the movement of people to the island as “rampant settlement-driven colonisation”.
French anti-terror prosecutors have reportedly opened a preliminary investigation following the release of the video. The probe is said to be examining suspected conspiracy to commit terrorist acts, as well as the carrying of weapons in connection with such activity.
Autonomy dispute
The footage also saw the group reject plans to give Corsica greater autonomy while keeping the Mediterranean island within the French Republic. The proposed legislation has passed through the lower house of the French parliament and is due to be examined by the Senate in October.
Under the plans, Corsica would be recognised as a distinct historical, linguistic and cultural community, while its local assembly would be handed greater powers. But the FLNC-UC branded the deal a “farce” and claimed it fails to recognise the Corsican people and their longstanding demands.
It said the proposals “lead to the denial of the existence of our people and the repudiation of the main demands of recent decades”. The group added: “The Corsican people will never be a vulgar administrative community.”
Historical context
It also claimed almost 5,000 people arrive on the island from France each year to work or buy property. According to French newspaper Corse-Matin, it pointed to a sharp rise in second-home ownership and described those buying properties on the island as “invaders”.
The FLNC first emerged in 1976, when it claimed responsibility for 18 attacks during a so-called “blue night”, which saw a wave of bombings across the island. It later split into several networks amid internal rivalries.
A major series of attacks claimed by the FLNC took place in 2023, when 45 explosions mainly targeted holiday homes and a disused tax office in Ajaccio. No injuries were reported.
