Corsican Nationalism

'La nation vaincue qui doit renaître...'

Corsica is known in France as 'l’Île de Beauté', 'the Island of Beauty'. It is the birthplace of Napoléon Bonaparte and many French tourists visit the island each year. Yet a part of the Corsican population would like to see the island become independent from France, or at the very least gain significant autonomy. Some of these Corsican nationalists have demonstrated to be willing to use violence in their struggle for independence. In 2008 I contacted Corsican nationalists in French prisons as part of my bachelor thesis. France considers these men as terrorists, but they see themselves as political prisoners. Eight of them wrote me long letters to explain their views. My research resulted in the publications mentioned below.