AJACCIO: President Emmanuel Macron told nationalists on the island of Corsica during a visit Tuesday that he would try to accommodate their demands for more autonomy while keeping them in the “Republican fold.”
Macron’s two-day visit to Corsica is being closely watched on the mainland, where some fear that giving the Mediterranean island too much autonomy could fuel a breakaway bid in the future.
The nationalists, who cemented their control of Corsica’s regional assembly in December elections, have denied any plans to try take the territory of 330,000 people out of France — at least for the time being.
Macron began his visit with a tribute to Claude Erignac, the state’s top representative on the island who was assassinated 20 years ago in an attack that shocked the country.
Addressing a ceremony in the city of Ajaccio, Macron said Corsica had been “sullied” by the killing, over which nationalist Yvan Colonna is serving a life sentence, and that there would be “no forgetting and no amnesty.”
He stressed that Corsica, which is economically dependent on the mainland, was part of the “unwavering” French Republic.
He promised, however, to try give it “the future it aspires to, without giving into demands that would take it out of the Republican fold.”
Nationalists have a string of demands, including making Corsican an official language and granting amnesty to Corsicans jailed for pro-independence violence.
A longtime hotbed of anti-French militancy, the mountainous island has enjoyed a measure of stability since 2014 when the separatist National Liberation Front of Corsica (FLNC) called a cease-fire.
Erignac was gunned down on February 6, 1998, while on the way to the theater with his wife.
The killing was the worst in a nearly four-decade campaign of attacks on the island, mostly targeting state infrastructure.
Tens of thousands of Corsicans took to the streets in protest.
Erignac’s widow and two children attended Tuesday’s ceremony, as did the leader of the regional government, Gilles Simeoni, who was to hold talks later with Macron.
The Corsican question has plagued successive French governments for nearly half a century.
Unlike the separatists in the wealthy Spanish region of Catalonia, who mounted a breakaway bid last year, Corsica’s leaders have said they will be content with greater autonomy and a special mention in the constitution.
On Saturday, thousands of nationalists marched to demand “respect for the Corsican people.”
Macron had suggested during campaigning for president that he was prepared to go further than his predecessors in recognizing the distinct nature of the island.
He will set out his policy in a highly-anticipated speech in the northern city of Bastia on Wednesday.
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Emmanuel Macron vows to keep Corsica French
Emmanuel Macron vows to keep Corsica French
Venezuela interim leader sacks industry minister, a Maduro ally
CARACAS: Venezuela’s interim president on Friday dismissed businessman Alex Saab, a close ally of deposed leader Nicolas Maduro, from his post as minister of industry.
In a Telegram message, Delcy Rodriguez announced the ministry would be combined with a commerce ministry and thanked Saab — a Colombian-born Venezuelan — “for his service to the Homeland; he will be taking on new responsibilities.”
The change comes amid pressure from Washington following the January 3 US military raid that ousted Maduro.
Saab, released in 2023 as part of a prisoner exchange with the United States, was appointed to office in 2024 by Maduro.
He had been arrested in Cape Verde in 2020 due to an Interpol notice over accusations he had served as a money launderer for the socialist leader.
He was subsequently extradited to the US, where he and his business partner Alvaro Pulido were charged with running a network that exploited food aid destined for Venezuela.
Saab’s dismissal is among the latest key changes to Venezuela’s government by Rodriguez since the US capture of Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores.
Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado meanwhile said her country is starting a “true transition” to democracy and will become free with support from the United States and President Donald Trump.
Trump however has sidelined Nobel laureate Machado and backed former vice president Rodriguez as interim leader of the oil-rich country following the seizure of Maduro.
“We are definitely now into the first steps of a true transition to democracy,” Machado said during an event in Washington, adding that this will have an “immense impact in the lives of all Venezuelans” as well as around the region and the world.
“Venezuela is going to be free, and that’s going to be achieved with the support of the people of the United States and the president, Donald Trump,” Machado said.
Her party has presented evidence that Maduro stole the 2024 election — claims supported by Washington and much of the international community.
But Trump has said that Machado does not have enough support among Venezuelans, and opted to stick with Rodriguez so long as she toes the line on US access to Venezuela’s vast oil reserves.
Machado said Friday that Rodriguez is “following orders” rather than acting of her own will.
The opposition leader’s remarks came a day after US Central Intelligence Agency chief John Ratcliffe met Rodriguez in Caracas.
Ratcliffe traveled to Venezuela to “deliver the message that the United States looks forward to an improved working relationship,” a US administration official said on condition of anonymity.
- Nobel medal -
In an indication of that improved relationship, a US deportation flight carrying 231 Venezuelans landed in Caracas on Friday, the first since Maduro’s overthrow.
Trump has made cracking down on undocumented immigrants a major part of his second term, carrying out sweeping immigration raids and deporting migrants.
Machado, 58, on Thursday presented her Nobel Peace Prize medal to Trump in a bid to win over the US president.
“He deserves it,” she said. “And it was a very emotional moment, I decided to present the Nobel Peace Prize medal on behalf of the people of Venezuela.”
It was not immediately clear if Trump — who said Friday that he and Machado will “be talking again” — kept the award following their White House lunch. The Norwegian Nobel committee says its prizes cannot be transferred.
Trump had campaigned hard to win last year’s prize, falsely claiming that he stopped eight wars since taking office, but it went to Machado instead.
Trump and Rodriguez had their first telephone call on Wednesday and the White House said he “likes what he’s seeing” from her.
Rodriguez said however that her government will stand up to Washington.
“We know they are very powerful... we are not afraid to confront them diplomatically, through political dialogue,” she said Thursday.
Rodriguez was delivering Maduro’s state of the nation address to parliament while the long-time authoritarian leader is in a New York jail facing drug trafficking charges.
By contrast Machado, who campaigned for years to end leftist Maduro’s rule, was greeted by jubilant supporters in Washington.
In a Telegram message, Delcy Rodriguez announced the ministry would be combined with a commerce ministry and thanked Saab — a Colombian-born Venezuelan — “for his service to the Homeland; he will be taking on new responsibilities.”
The change comes amid pressure from Washington following the January 3 US military raid that ousted Maduro.
Saab, released in 2023 as part of a prisoner exchange with the United States, was appointed to office in 2024 by Maduro.
He had been arrested in Cape Verde in 2020 due to an Interpol notice over accusations he had served as a money launderer for the socialist leader.
He was subsequently extradited to the US, where he and his business partner Alvaro Pulido were charged with running a network that exploited food aid destined for Venezuela.
Saab’s dismissal is among the latest key changes to Venezuela’s government by Rodriguez since the US capture of Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores.
Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado meanwhile said her country is starting a “true transition” to democracy and will become free with support from the United States and President Donald Trump.
Trump however has sidelined Nobel laureate Machado and backed former vice president Rodriguez as interim leader of the oil-rich country following the seizure of Maduro.
“We are definitely now into the first steps of a true transition to democracy,” Machado said during an event in Washington, adding that this will have an “immense impact in the lives of all Venezuelans” as well as around the region and the world.
“Venezuela is going to be free, and that’s going to be achieved with the support of the people of the United States and the president, Donald Trump,” Machado said.
Her party has presented evidence that Maduro stole the 2024 election — claims supported by Washington and much of the international community.
But Trump has said that Machado does not have enough support among Venezuelans, and opted to stick with Rodriguez so long as she toes the line on US access to Venezuela’s vast oil reserves.
Machado said Friday that Rodriguez is “following orders” rather than acting of her own will.
The opposition leader’s remarks came a day after US Central Intelligence Agency chief John Ratcliffe met Rodriguez in Caracas.
Ratcliffe traveled to Venezuela to “deliver the message that the United States looks forward to an improved working relationship,” a US administration official said on condition of anonymity.
- Nobel medal -
In an indication of that improved relationship, a US deportation flight carrying 231 Venezuelans landed in Caracas on Friday, the first since Maduro’s overthrow.
Trump has made cracking down on undocumented immigrants a major part of his second term, carrying out sweeping immigration raids and deporting migrants.
Machado, 58, on Thursday presented her Nobel Peace Prize medal to Trump in a bid to win over the US president.
“He deserves it,” she said. “And it was a very emotional moment, I decided to present the Nobel Peace Prize medal on behalf of the people of Venezuela.”
It was not immediately clear if Trump — who said Friday that he and Machado will “be talking again” — kept the award following their White House lunch. The Norwegian Nobel committee says its prizes cannot be transferred.
Trump had campaigned hard to win last year’s prize, falsely claiming that he stopped eight wars since taking office, but it went to Machado instead.
Trump and Rodriguez had their first telephone call on Wednesday and the White House said he “likes what he’s seeing” from her.
Rodriguez said however that her government will stand up to Washington.
“We know they are very powerful... we are not afraid to confront them diplomatically, through political dialogue,” she said Thursday.
Rodriguez was delivering Maduro’s state of the nation address to parliament while the long-time authoritarian leader is in a New York jail facing drug trafficking charges.
By contrast Machado, who campaigned for years to end leftist Maduro’s rule, was greeted by jubilant supporters in Washington.
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