National Liberation Front of Corsica
| National Liberation Front of Corsica | |
|---|---|
| Fronte di liberazione naziunale di a Corsica Front de libération nationale corse | |
All FLNC groups frequently use a Corsican flag along with their wordmark in sans-serif letters. In photo shoots, they will usually feature a Corsican flag in the background, along with a table, draped in white cloth with their wordmark prominently displayed. | |
| Leaders | Léo Battesti (founder; formerly) Alain Orsoni (FLNC-CA) François Santoni (FLNC-CS) Charles Pieri (FLNC-CS and FLNC-UC) Paul-Felix Benedetti (FLNC-22U) Stephane Ori (FLNC-21M) |
| Dates of operation | 4 May 1976 – active |
| Active regions | Corsica, France French mainland |
| Ideology | Corsican nationalism Anti-French sentiment Environmentalism Secessionism Factions: Left-wing nationalism Right-wing nationalism |
| Slogan | À populu fattu, bisogna à marchja (to people done, it is needed to march) |
| Allies | |
| Opponents | |
| Battles and wars | Corsican conflict |
| FLNC organizations: FLNC (1976-1990) FLNC-Canal Habituel FLNC-Canal Historique FLNC-5 May FLNC-UC FLNC-22 October FLNC-Solu è Unicu FLNC-1976 FLNC-Unified FLNC-9 July FLNC-Rinascita FLNC-21 May New FLNC | |
The National Liberation Front of Corsica (Corsican: Fronte di liberazione naziunale di a Corsica or Fronte di liberazione naziunale corsu; French: Front de libération nationale corse, abbreviated FLNC) is a name used by various guerrilla and paramilitary organizations that advocate an independent or autonomous state on the island of Corsica, separated from France. The original FLNC was founded on 5 May 1976 from a merger between two smaller armed groups: the Corsican Peasant Front for Liberation (Fronte Paesanu Corsu per Liberazione, FPCL), and Ghjustizia Paolina (Corsican for Paoline Justice). This organization persisted until 1990, when a 1988 ceasefire agreement caused the unstable organization to split into two organizations based around separate ideas. In 1999, various factions merged to form the FLNC-Union of Combatants (FLNC-Unione di i Cumbattenti, FLNC-UC), a larger organization and one of the FLNCs which still exist today. In the present day, there are four organizations still active with the FLNC name: The FLNC-UC, The FLNC-22 October (FLNC-22 Uttrovi, FLNC-22U), the FLNC-1976, and the FLNC-21 May (FLNC-21 Maghju, FLNC-21M). The FLNC-UC and FLNC-22U, the two largest and most active groups, often sign press releases and communiqués together, and have been allied since at least 2022. The political party Nazione was founded in 2024 from the political party Corsica Libera, the modern political wing of the FLNC-UC. is led by Petr'Antu Tomasi, Ghjuvan-Guidu Talamoni and Josepha Giacometti-Piredda, with the participation of the former FLNC political prisoner Carlu Santoni. The FLNCs are all mostly local to Corsica but also commit attacks on the French mainland.
Typical militant acts by various FLNC organizations were bombings aimed at public buildings, banks, tourist infrastructure, military buildings and other perceived French symbols, in addition to armed bank robbery and extortion against private enterprises through so-called "revolutionary taxes". The attacks were usually performed against buildings and the island's infrastructures, but it was also not uncommon for FLNC organizations to have individual people as targets. This was especially common during the tumultuous period of the “years of lead”, in which a large number of assassinations occurred between various warring factions, many successors of the original FLNC.