The National Liberation Front of Corsica, known in French as Front de libération nationale corse (FLNC) is a 70s founded politico-militant insurgency, which many say takes root from the French Island Corsica’s centuries old struggles for it’s independence. Some say it is a mafia organization that is just plundering Corsica’s local economy. However, to many the FLNC from it’s outlook, shares the upheaval characteristics of Ireland’s insurgency the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA), but it doesn’t. The socioeconomic realities of FLNC and it’s tactics make it still different from the IRA.
The collective Corsican resentment against French policies and the turf gangs of the Island have kept the name and kinetics of FLNC alive. However, last year’s recent events such as the bombing of a small bungalow owned by a French hotel in the capital city of Ajaccio, and the latest statement-video released to the press on 1st September makes it ever more important to write this article. To understand the FLNC and what future it has in it’s struggle.
Corsica
Corsica is the fourth largest island located in the heart of the Mediterranean Sea, with an approximate distance of 170km Southeast from the French coast, 80km from the main coast of Italy, and is also a neighboring Island close to the Italian island, Sardinia. The economy runs mostly on providing skilled labor and agricultural production of citrus fruits, meat, wine, honey, chestnut flour, cheese and cattle breeding, etc,. With agriculture and farming across the eastern plains of the island, as well as in the mountains. The biggest boom to it’s revenue and economy also comes from tourism. Which has become another cause of anger among Corsicans by creating a property crisis; The mild and windy climate and it’s scenic beauty have attracted a lot of tourism over the years. That brought with it a wave of affluent foreigners, hoteliers, and French mainlanders who bought and constructed large properties and, in some cases, several of them. This unexpected nature of development and exclusivity drove property prices higher than the affordability rate of most locals. Which to this year has kept sparking protests, especially from the younger and working age people. Despite various reforms, little effect has taken place.
The island enjoys it’s own cultures, and the most spoken local language is Corse, which is still not recognized or accepted by the French government. Therefore, it’s public administrations, and schools still communicate in French as an official language.
A Corsican Dream
To understand further, where the generational anger comes from, Corsica through centuries had always been in a struggle against external imperialism and it’s secondary status. With it’s citizens being treated as secondary.
Since the early 18th century, the island fought for it’s independence. The first struggle for secession started against the occupation of the Republic of Genoa in 1729, which is present-day Italy. Despite having an economic class as well as it’s own aristocratic nobility, it’s people were subjected to alienating laws, hefty taxation, and exclusion from the Genoese administration. This led to an armed struggle for it’s independence. Which ultimately succeeded in 1755, forming the Republic of Corsica under the rule of Pasquale Paoli, who led the struggle during it’s final stages after his father Giacinto Paoli. The final response of the exhausted Genoese kingdom came with the signing of an agreement with the French kingdom through the Treaty of Versailles in 1768. To cede it’s former territory to France in order to suppress the newly founded republic. The French then sent their troops on Corsican soil. In 1769, the island fell into the hands of the Kingdom of France after two battles. Since then, Corsica has always been recognized as French sovereign territory internationally.
Modern Corsica and the rise of FLNC
The early 1970s saw the resentment of the difficult and restrictive laws and taxation with the century-old colonialist rules. The livelihood of Corsicans became difficult. With it’s inhabitants seen as insignificant. This led to multiple protests that took place and were ignored by the French administration. The significant number of rising cases of police raids and brutalities towards protesters became a turning point for Corsican nationalists.
The result was the coming together of student unions, nationalists and two armed groups Ghjustizia Paolina and Fronte Paesanu Corsu di Liberazione to form the FLNC on May 5th 1976. However, the organization faced major problems from the start. It’s next decades were rife with internal conflicts among it’s members. Splits and a lack of unanimity contributed greatly to it’s weaknesses, as well as resentment from Corsicans when it’s members assassinated the Prefect (the equivalent of a representative) of the island, Claude Erignac. That sparking protests and international media highlights against it. In June 2014, the movement officially announced the stoppage of it’s violence, targeting of buildings and infrastructure, and to pursue their struggle through legislature and politics. Though, no clear reason was cited, it is believed this was due to the rise of Islamic State (IS) in Iraq which posed a concern for the movement to be likely associated with it and face severe international condemnation. By October 2016, the FLNC fully ceased it’s activities to which the French government showed no response. In the following years, many criminals and local mafias sought to use the name to conduct their activities under the disguise of FLNC. There have been media reports from 2018–20 about the re-emergence of the movement, but the released video statement in 2021 is the latest official announcement, which has been fully confirmed by the island’s local media.
Training, Tactics, and Methods
There hasn’t been much detailed documentation throughout history around how and through whom the FLNC was trained, but there are many things that can be broken down and analyzed. The first attacks that took place on the 4th of May at night were a series of almost simultaneous bomb explosions in Ajaccio, Bastia, Sartène, Porto-Vecchio and various parts of Corsica. After that, the next morning, the organization announced its formation. It is unclear if any lives were lost at that time. The main targets were government owned buildings, hotel guesthouses, and a few districts.
Training
According to many relevant sources and Corsicans, the 70’s FLNC was trained and advised by members of the Provisional IRA and also a few other paramilitary groups. But having been made of armed groups and some experienced criminal organizations, the group managed itself, having no problems in concealing many of it’s capabilities and activities. The most neglected parts are the individual links the group formed with other criminal organizations in the French mainland, which also made the procurement of materials much easier. The procurement of weapons, on the other hand, was done by sea routes. Though there is no evidence that if the Libyan government at that time provided funding and armaments as it was accused of. Most firearms were transported from Ireland and European countries via ferries. Most witnessed and confiscated firearms that were used in the past were of Eastern European origins mostly, as their proofmarks indicated, such as Kalashnikovs, rocket propelled grenades (RPG), and different styles of pistols. Western and European firearms included Steyr rifles, which were seen in a lot of propaganda videos, AR18s, FN FAL, M16s, M79 grenade launchers and a variety of sub-guns like UZI, MP5s and British sterling.
Tactics and Methods
By many observers and internet fans, the group is often seen as a lot capable, but having training in terms of organization is completely different to having training in terms of firearms, and there have never been any media releases, depicting it’s training unlike many insurgencies and even terror groups.
The methods used by the group share a lot of similarities with left-wing terrorist groups, especially deploying the use of guerilla tactics. But the major difference has been that the general public has never been targeted directly. Instead, the FLNC always relied on blowing up premises of French government buildings, banks, hotels, police and military posts such as the targeting of the NATO radar station in 1978. In most cases, bombings of buildings have been carried out during night time, when they were empty. The group has carried out targeted assassinations on bureaucrats, police and military officials and personnel. The attacks were also extended to Paris and other busy parts of France.
Conclusion
Due to political failure to even achieve provincial autonomy and the continuous rise of inflation, which has been worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic. The group is once again rising due to the reason that it is being joined by the next generation of working-age Corsican youth, who have been left unemployed, incarcerated/profiled, and neglected by the French government. The recent 2021 regional elections have been won in a majority by nationalists. Though, it is still unclear if there is any future for the FLNC, but it is likely that the group may grow more in strength and significance if the French administration continues to ignore Corsican people’s concerns.
The current demands of both nationalists and FLNC are:
* Mandatory teaching of Corsican in kindergarten.
* Restriction of excessive tourist movement.
* Provincial autonomy or independence.
* The removal of all instruments of “French colonialism”.
* Ban on the purchase of property by non-Corsicans.
* Control and lowering of inflation and property prices.
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