PARIS: President Emmanuel Macron has said his government could consider changes in the relationship between mainland France and Corsica, which seeks greater autonomy, but ruled out new residency rights or recognition of Corsican as an official language.
An alliance of Corsica’s two main nationalist parties swept a local election on Dec. 10 and has been pressing for talks with Paris.
Its leaders want more autonomy on fiscal issues, an equal status for the French and Corsican languages, and the limiting of the right to buy property in some areas to people who have been resident on the holiday island for at least five years.
The two-party “Pe a Corsica” (For Corsica) alliance won nearly two-thirds of seats in the local assembly election. Support for their cause is driven by dissatisfaction with France’s mainstream parties, mirroring a trend that has spurred secessionist ambitions elsewhere in Europe, such as Catalonia.
“Looking ahead, we could consider possible changes, and the prime minister has indicated this to Corsica’s leaders,” Macron said in an interview published by Spanish daily El Mundo on Wednesday.
“But these would come, as elsewhere, within the framework of the constitution. This republican framework does not allow us to say yes to certain demands, such as on residency rights or recognizing Coriscan as the official language alongside French.”
Corsica’s nationalists are split between those who seek greater autonomy and those who see full independence as the ultimate goal.
Corsica makes up two of France’s 101 “departements” — local administration areas. Unlike in Catalonia, its nationalists downplay any immediate ambitions for independence, saying the island — where Napoleon was born in 1769 — lacks the Spanish region’s demographic and economic clout.
While Macron did not say what he might be prepared to negotiate, it is the first time he has touched on the subject since the vote. France is a highly centralized state and Corsica’s demands for more autonomy have often been met with irritation and a refusal to negotiate by past governments.
French president opens door to changes in mainland-Corsica relationship
French president opens door to changes in mainland-Corsica relationship
Ukraine’s Zelensky: We have backed US peace proposals to get a deal done
- “The tactic we chose is for the Americans not to think that we want to continue the war,” Zelensky told The Atlantic
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Kyiv had sought to back US peace proposals to end the war with Russia as President Donald Trump seeks to resolve the conflict before November mid-term elections.
Zelensky, in an interview published by The Atlantic on Thursday, said Kyiv was willing to hold both a presidential election and a referendum on a deal, but would not settle for an accord that was detrimental to Ukraine’s interests.
“The tactic we chose is for the Americans not to think that we want to continue the war,” Zelensky told the US-based publication. “That’s why we started supporting their proposals in any format that speeds things along.”
He said Ukraine was “not afraid of anything. Are we ready for elections? We’re ready. Are we ready for a referendum? We’re ready.”
Zelensky has sought to build good relations with Washington since an Oval Office meeting in February 2025 descended into a shouting match with Trump and US Vice President JD Vance.
But he said he had rejected a proposal, reported this week by the Financial Times, to announce the votes on February 24, the fourth anniversary of Russia’s invasion. A ceasefire and proposed US security guarantees against a future invasion had not yet been settled, he said.
“No one is clinging to power,” The Atlantic quoted him as saying. “I am ready for elections. But for that we need security, guarantees of security, a ceasefire.”
And he added: “I don’t think we should put a bad deal up for a referendum.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said Zelensky is not a legitimate negotiating partner because he has not faced election since coming to power in 2019.
Zelensky has said in recent weeks that a document on security guarantees for Ukraine is all but ready to be signed.
But, in his remarks, he acknowledged that details remained unresolved, including whether the US would be willing to shoot down incoming missiles over Ukraine if Russia were to violate the peace.
“This hasn’t been fixed yet,” Zelensky said. “We have raised it, and we will continue to raise these questions...We need all of this to be written out.”
