A cycle of discussions will open on the future in Corsica with local elected officials, announced Gérald Darmanin on Thursday July 21. The Minister of the Interior made this announcement after a meeting of the strategic committee on the future of Corsica organized in Paris. Gérald Darmanin received 21 island elected officials to discuss their expectations for the future of the island.
These thematic discussions will take place every six weeks to address the economic difficulties of Corsica. All topics can be addressed transparently with two red lines: “Corsica is in the Republic and there will not be two types of citizens, the Corsicans and the French”warns the minister. “No taboo is ruled out, neither that of language, nor that of culture, nor that of the economic and social model, nor that of tax status”says Gérald Darmanin.
These discussions will be accompanied by trips each time by the minister to Corsica, franceinfo learned from his entourage.
Gérald Darmanin affirms his desire for dialogue, in particular with local elected officials, with the idea of talking to Corsicans about issues that concern them, such as home ownership, waste treatment or youth employment.
Among the 21 elected representatives present in Paris are nine representatives of the Assembly of Corsica, the autonomist president of the executive council Gilles Simeoni, the four island deputies, the two Corsican senators, the Corsican European deputy, the presidents of the associations of mayors of Haute- Corse and Corse-du-Sud and the mayors of Ajaccio and Bastia.
Gérald Darmanin will arrive Friday morning in Bastia. He will meet elected officials in the prefectural residence at 9 a.m., before holding a meeting on the fight against organized crime at 10 a.m. At 5:30 p.m. he will visit the gendarmerie of Zicavo, in southern Corsica. This Saturday, he will notably visit the Propiano SNSM station at 10.45 a.m.