Jean Castex lifted this Friday the status of “particularly reported detainee” (DPS) of Alain Ferrandi and Pierre Alessandri, members of the Érignac commando, “in a spirit of appeasement” after the aggression of Yvan Colonna which aroused a series of demonstrations in Corsica, announced Matignon. This status prevented their rapprochement to a Corsican prison.
This decision, which applies “without delay”, therefore opens the way to a rapprochement in Corsica of the two detainees, an old claim that has become a major political point of tension on the island. The Prime Minister had already tried to ease the tension on Tuesday evening by lifting, “for human reasons” he assures us, the DPS status of Yvan Colonna, also sentenced to life for the assassination of the prefect of Corsica Claude Erignac in 1998.
A Corsican youth still active after several days of tension
Nine days after the assault in prison of Yvan Colonna, still in a coma, the gatherings have multiplied in Corsica. Jean Castex’s gesture was judged by some as a provocation and raised the fever between Corsican youth and the police, especially during a night of riots on Wednesday evening. But for Gilles Simeoni, the president of the Corsican executive, it is a first victory.
“It’s a first important gesture which was eagerly awaited, so it’s a significant first step, but it must still be remembered that it is only the application of the law. Obviously, the demonstrations have played a role. There was the democratic mobilization. There was the support of parliamentarians, the anger expressed by the street. This led to today’s result. We can regret that it took so long to apply the law”, he assures the microphone of Europe 1.
Despite this first step of the executive, the Corsican youth remains very active. The Fesch high school was for example still blocked this Friday morning. “This can certainly contribute to calming the situation in Corsica, which has been explosive for several days. Now, we must not raise our guard and we must still show the government that we still want major political progress for our island. This can also help us to seek other claims”, explains one of these young Corsicans.
Firm condemnation of violence in the Ajaccio courthouse
In this context, Jean Castex said he “strongly condemns” the violence, which saw the Ajaccio courthouse in particular targeted on Wednesday evening, “as well as the totally inappropriate remarks accusing the State of having intentionally lent the hand in the very serious attack of which Yvan Colonna was the victim”.
“The conditions under which this unacceptable act could have taken place in a penal establishment must be elucidated in a rapid and transparent manner”, further pleaded the Prime Minister, recalling that he had launched an investigation by the General Inspectorate of Justice.
“Opening a new political cycle in Corsica”
The Prime Minister “suggested that once calm has returned to the island, the dialogue initiated in recent months on the evolution of the status of the community of Corsica, as well as on the major economic and social issues of the territory can resume” . This is why the call to demonstrate in Bastia this Sunday at 3 p.m. is maintained and the activists now hope to be joined by the entire Corsican population, well beyond nationalist circles.
The government is therefore playing the appeasement card, but it is also being very cautious. His communication is minimalist despite the fact that the case is handled in high places. After the departure to the Constitutional Council of the Minister for Territorial Cohesion Jacqueline Gourault, the “Corsica” component was directly taken over by the Minister of the Interior Gérald Darmanin.
If Jean Castex gave satisfaction on these points, “the bellows of popular anger could only fall a little or even a lot,” political scientist Thierry Dominici, a specialist in nationalist movements, assured AFP on Thursday.