Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Israeli media: One Israeli soldier killed in a "security incident" in Khan Younis, south of the Gaza Strip
Israeli media: Intense exchange of fire in Khan Younis
Israeli media platform reports on a tough incident in Gaza still under media censorship
Iran's judiciary says 71 killed in Israeli strike on Evin Prison
Trump: Make the deal, get the hostages back
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: 67 Palestinians were martyred in 24 hours in the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip
Israeli media: For the first time, Prime Minister Netanyahu is signaling that he wants to end the war on Gaza
Israeli Channel 12, citing an American source: We want to have entered a path toward captive release and a ceasefire before Netanyahu arrives in Washington
Lebanese Ministry of Health: One martyr and two injured in the Israeli airstrike that targeted a motorcycle in the town of Mahrouna
Al Mayadeen correspondent to Southern Lebanon: An Israeli drone strike targeted a vehicle between the towns of Jwayya and Mahrouna.

France calls for calm after Corsican nationalist dies from prison assault

  • By Al Mayadeen net
  • Source: Agencies
  • 22 Mar 2022 14:58
3 Min Read

The Corsican nationalist Yvan Colonna was being held in a prison in southern France over the assassination of a senior French official in 1998.

  • x
  • Corsican nationalist dies from assault in prison
    Yvan Colonna in July 2003 (AFP)

The French government issued an appeal for calm on Tuesday, following the death of imprisoned Corsican nationalist Yvan Colonna, which prompted concerns of more bloodshed on the French Mediterranean island.

Colonna was allegedly attacked by a fellow inmate on March 2 in a prison in southern France where he was being held for the 1998 assassination of a senior French government official. Those who consider Colonna a hero of independence were outraged.

French government spokesperson Gabriel Attal told Europe 1 radio on Tuesday that a call for calm and dialogue is needed, adding that "everything will be done to shed light on events which led to this unacceptable situation."

A suspected "Islamic extremist" was responsible for the fatal blow after he left Colonna in a coma. An inquiry into the attack is underway.

Colonna's lawyer Patrice Spinosi told AFP on Monday that his family requests respect for its grief and will not be making any comments.

Colonna died in a hospital in Marseille, after the French judiciary suspended his sentence due to medical injuries on March 17.

Last Wednesday, Paris announced it might offer Corsica "autonomy" to ease tensions between the Mediterranean island's fervent independence movement and the French state, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin claimed.

President Emmanuel Macron stated that the matter should not be considered "taboo", but that there must be an end to the disturbance before a debate can take place.

Last Thursday, Macron said, "It is a debate that cannot take place until there is absolute calm."

Colonna was apprehended in 2003 following a five-year quest that led to his discovery as a shepherd in the Corsican Alps. He was later sentenced to life in jail for assassinating Corsica's senior provincial politician, Claude Erignac, in 1998.

Darmanin's remarks last week and subsequent visit to Corsica allegedly helped to defuse tensions, but it remains to be seen how nationalists respond to Colonna's death.

Colonna's supporters have long advocated for his release or, at the very least, his transfer from continental France to a Corsican jail out of fear for his health and life.

Gilles Simeoni, the leader of Corsica's pro-autonomy regional council, told AFP that Darmanin's proposals are "important words that open up prospects, but they ought now to be extended and firmed up."

The National Liberation Front of Corsica (FLNC), which laid down its arms in 2014, warned that if Paris remained in a state of "contemptuous denial", it could resume its fight.

Red lines

According to a memorandum agreed on by Darmanin and Simeoni, independence talks are scheduled for April and will be concluded by the end of 2022.

Attal highlighted the government's "red lines" on Tuesday — that "Corsica remains a part of the republic and the fact that we will never accept that there are two categories of people in the republic."

  • National Liberation Front of Corsica
  • Prison assault
  • Paris
  • France
  • Corsica

Most Read

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian attends a protest following the US attacks on nuclear sites in Iran, in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, June 22, 2025. (AP)

Iran declares victory as ceasefire forces Israeli retreat

  • Politics
  • 24 Jun 2025
Iran launches strikes on Israeli targets, despite alleged ceasefire

Iran victorious as ceasefire with 'Israel' takes effect

  • Politics
  • 24 Jun 2025
Iranian worshippers carry their country's flags in a protest to condemn Israeli attacks on multiple cities across Iran, after the Friday prayers ceremony in Tehran, Iran, Friday, June 20, 2025. (AP)

Iran warns of NPT withdrawal, Strait of Hormuz closure after US attack

  • Politics
  • 22 Jun 2025
The site of a direct missile strike launched from Iran in Tel Aviv on Sunday, June 22, 2025. (AP)

Op. True Promise 3, wave 21: Multi-warhead missiles rain on 'Israel'

  • Politics
  • 23 Jun 2025

Coverage

All
The Ummah's Martyrs

Read Next

All
In this June, 12, 2021, file photo, former Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council Ali Shamkhani sits in a meeting in Tehran, Iran.
Politics

Iran strategically foiled Israeli-US scheme, Advisor Shamkhani says

Sheikh Naim
MENA

Let no one think they can subjugate Hezbollah: Sheikh Qassem

Screengrab from a video published by the al-Qassam Brigades shows confrontations with the Israeli occupation forces in Gaza, undated (Al-Qassam Brigades Military Media)
Politics

Al-Qassam releases video of deadly ambush with Israeli forces in Gaza

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General, Rafael Grossi, attends an IAEA Board of Governors meeting in Vienna, Austria, Monday, June 23, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Iran bars IAEA chief Grossi from nuclear facility inspections

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS