AJACCIO: Thousands of Corsicans marched in Ajaccio, the French Mediterranean island’s capital, on Saturday to demand more autonomy, ahead of a visit by President Emmanuel Macron next week.
An alliance of Corsica’s two main nationalist parties, helped by disillusion with mainstream parties tarnished by corruption, swept to victory in a local election on Dec. 10 and has been pressing for talks with Paris.
Its leaders want more autonomy on fiscal issues, 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 island for at least five years.
The local prefecture said between 5,600 and 6,000 people marched peacefully in Ajaccio, while organizers put the number of protesters at between 22,000 and 25,000.
“It’s a historic moment, a march of unprecedented proportions in Ajaccio,” the island’s chief Gilles Simeoni told reporters.
Macron’s government has said it is open to some changes in its relationship with Corsica.
But ministers have rejected some demands, such as the language question, which would require changes to the French constitution which states that French is the Republic’s sole official language.
That has infuriated nationalist leaders, who had urged Corsicans to join the protest march, ahead of Macron’s visit on Tuesday.
The government is playing with fire by rejecting the nationalists’ demands, Simeoni told Reuters in an interview this week, alluding to the independence movement’s violent past.
Before laying down arms in 2014, groups backing Corsican independence had carried out more than 10,000 attacks over four decades, blowing up police stations and holiday homes.
These clandestine groups were linked to at least 40 deaths, either in attacks on government officials or as a result of infighting among rival factions.
Corsica has 325,000 inhabitants and accounts for less than 0.5 percent of France’s economy.
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Corsica’s nationalists stage protest ahead of Macron visit
Corsica’s nationalists stage protest ahead of Macron visit
French TV broadcasts Louvre robbery images
- Video shows the brazen jewel thieves breaking into display cases
- Four suspects are in police custody over the October 19 heist
PARIS: Footage of the spectacular robbery at the Louvre Museum has been broadcast for the first time on French television, showing the brazen jewel thieves breaking into display cases.
The images, filmed by surveillance cameras, were shown by the TF1 and public France Televisions channels on Sunday evening, three months after the hugely embarrassing break-in in October.
They show the two burglars, one wearing a black balaclava and a yellow high-visibility jacket, the other dressed in black with a motorcycle helmet, as they force their way into the Apollo Gallery.
After breaking in through a reinforced window with high-powered disk cutters, they begin slicing into display cases under the eyes of several staff members who do not intervene.
Managers at the Louvre have stressed that staff are not trained to confront thieves and are asked to prioritize the evacuation of visitors.
The security failures highlighted by the break-in on a Sunday morning in broad daylight have cast a harsh spotlight on management of the institution and director Laurence des Cars.
Trade unions are pressing for more recruitment and better maintenance of the vast former royal palace, launching several days of strikes in recent months.
Another stoppage on Monday forced a full closure for the third time since December, leaving thousands of tourists disappointed outside again.
Four suspects are in police custody over the October 19 heist, including the two suspected thieves, but the eight stolen items of French crown jewels worth an estimated $102 million have not been found.
During the roughly four minutes that the two men were inside the gallery, one staff member can be seen holding a bollard used to orient visitors through the gallery, according to France Televisions.
The images, as well as multiple DNA samples found at the scene, form a key part of the ongoing criminal investigation into the robbery.
Details of the footage have been reported in French newspapers, including Le Parisien.
Metal bars have been installed over the windows of the Apollo Gallery since the break-in.
The images, filmed by surveillance cameras, were shown by the TF1 and public France Televisions channels on Sunday evening, three months after the hugely embarrassing break-in in October.
They show the two burglars, one wearing a black balaclava and a yellow high-visibility jacket, the other dressed in black with a motorcycle helmet, as they force their way into the Apollo Gallery.
After breaking in through a reinforced window with high-powered disk cutters, they begin slicing into display cases under the eyes of several staff members who do not intervene.
Managers at the Louvre have stressed that staff are not trained to confront thieves and are asked to prioritize the evacuation of visitors.
The security failures highlighted by the break-in on a Sunday morning in broad daylight have cast a harsh spotlight on management of the institution and director Laurence des Cars.
Trade unions are pressing for more recruitment and better maintenance of the vast former royal palace, launching several days of strikes in recent months.
Another stoppage on Monday forced a full closure for the third time since December, leaving thousands of tourists disappointed outside again.
Four suspects are in police custody over the October 19 heist, including the two suspected thieves, but the eight stolen items of French crown jewels worth an estimated $102 million have not been found.
During the roughly four minutes that the two men were inside the gallery, one staff member can be seen holding a bollard used to orient visitors through the gallery, according to France Televisions.
The images, as well as multiple DNA samples found at the scene, form a key part of the ongoing criminal investigation into the robbery.
Details of the footage have been reported in French newspapers, including Le Parisien.
Metal bars have been installed over the windows of the Apollo Gallery since the break-in.
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