Conflict and Agreement: the Relationship Between the Left and Corsican Nationalists Parties

Corsican nationalism appears as radical, separatist and distant from the French institutions. However, its story is inseparable from a French institutional structure: the Corsican region. The Corsican Region was created in 1982 by a Socialist government. Although it wasn’t originally a nationalist claim, the nationalist parties reappropriated this institution and made it their symbol. From then on, the French Left became the nationalists’ main partner while the right-wing parties showed a constant opposition to nationalist ideas. The thirty-seven years that followed reflects the complex and plural relationship the nationalist representatives weaved with the Left. This relationship can be analysed as dual: on the one hand, following a policy of decentralisation, successive socialist governments proposed reforms on the Corsican status. It was a gradual process involving multiple policies such as a special region statute (1982), the "Statut Joxe" (1991) or the Matignon agreements (2002). A long-lasting coalition between a Left-wing party (Les Verts, Green Party) and nationalist parties was even created. On the other hand, the local representatives of the Left were often opposed to Corsican nationalism on the grounds of the use of political violence. Indeed, the Left in Corsica is not homogeneous: the most prominent French left-wing party, the Socialist Party (PS) is a minority in Corsica, and the Left is mainly represented by the Radical Party of the Left (PRG). Several generations of the same family, the “Giacobbi clan” (PRG), passed on different official roles and occasionally changed their political strategies towards the nationalists. This dual relationship shows a local versus national dynamic. The purpose of this paper will be to compare these two levels in a socio-historical approach.