Corsican voters favour nationalists seeking more autonomy
PARIS — Nationalists on the French Mediterranean island of Corsica have swept the first round of elections for a territorial assembly, taking nearly 45.4 per cent of the weekend vote.
The single 63-seat assembly is to replace existing bodies as part of nationwide territorial reforms.
A coalition led by Gilles Simeoni, mayor of the northern city of Bastia and a longtime Corsican leader figure, carried the victory in Sunday’s voting, according to final results Monday. The nationalists, seeking greater autonomy for Corsica but not full independence, made a mark in 2015 territorial elections, and their weekend victory was no surprise.
Simeoni insisted in a commentary in Le Monde last month that “Corsica is not Catalonia,” referring to the independence movement in Spain that Madrid has tried to crush.
