A look back at the assassination of Claude Erignac
The assassination of the prefect of Corsica Claude Erignac, on February 6, 1998, had caused a shock wave. In the following days, tens of thousands of Corsicans expressed their fear and sadness during the biggest demonstrations ever organized in Ajaccio and Bastia.
An anonymous group had claimed responsibility for the assassination of the prefect on February 9. Two nationalist activists were then arrested and will spend long months in prison before being released.
On May 21, 1999, four men were arrested and confessed. An arrest warrant is issued against a fifth, Yvan Colonna, who becomes the most wanted man in France after being accused during police custody of being the shooter.
Eight nationalists appeared in June and July 2003 before the special assize court in Paris. Four of them put Yvan Colonna out of the question. However, he was arrested on July 4, 2003 in a sheepfold near the village of Olmeto (Corse-du-Sud).
Eight years later and after three trials, the man who claims to have “never killed” anyone was sentenced on June 20, 2011 to life imprisonment.