a guard of honor for the arrival in Corsica of the body of the militant

In the silence, the remains ofyvan Colonna arrived in Corsica on the evening of Wednesday March 23. A procession was improvised at the exit of Ajaccio airport (Corse-du-Sud). At the side of the road, 1,500 people gathered to accompany the coffin. “That’s the Corsican people. I believe that [c’est] the most beautiful definition that has been given this evening. A child of this people left in terrible conditions, and we are here to accompany him“, says a woman.

On the morning of Thursday March 24, at the funeral home, many Corsicans also came to pay their last respects to the nationalist militant, killed by a fellow prisoner. Yvan Colonna’s mother-in-law spoke of the grief of her 10-year-old grandson. “He said: ‘It’s going to be hard to digest, it will be long’. Because he wanted his father back“, she said. Gilles Simeoni, the president of the community of Corsica, came to offer his condolences.

The elected nationalist took the initiative to lower the flags of the region. “A fault“and a gesture”inappropriate“, according to Emmanuel Macron.”In our traditions, that’s what mourning is, for us it’s very important. After, (…) everyone is free“, answers a Corsican.