A coalition of movements pushing for greater autonomy for Corsica will dominate a newly constituted assembly on the French Mediterranean island, giving it the legitimacy to push Paris for changes to the island’s status, reports Bloomberg.
Pe a Corsica, or “For Corsica” in the local dialect, won 56.5 percent of the vote in Sunday’s vote and will hold 41 of the 63 seats, according to final results from the pnterior ministry. The victory was expected after its slate of candidates won just short of a majority in the first round of voting a week ago.
Lists linked to President Emmanuel Macron’s party and to the rightwing opposition will hold six seats each. Turnout was 52.5 percent.
“The circumstances have never been better for a political settlement of the Corsican issue,” Gilles Simeoni, one of the two main leaders of Pe a Corsica, said in an interview with Le Monde after the election. “The Corsicans have massively signaled to the state that the moment to open a genuine dialogue has come.”
Unlike the separatists in Catalonia, Pe a Corsica has ruled out pushing for full independence but wants to negotiate with the national government in Paris to establish a status of local residency, with priority for owning or renting property on an island where demand for vacation homes has priced out many locals.