At least 1,500 people, according to the authorities, gathered along the road leaving the airport to pay tribute to Yvan Colonna. His body arrived Wednesday evening at Ajaccio airportbefore his funeral scheduled for Friday.
A silent crowd and hundreds of Corsican flags
The size of the procession that accompanied the hearse reflects the intense emotion on the island. Red lanterns were lined up on the asphalt and hundreds of Corsican flags representing a Moor’s head wearing a white headband were brandished. As the hearse passed, carrying the coffin covered with a Corsican flagsome in the silent crowd approached to touch the vehicle, others made the sign of the cross.
“What happened to him in prison is unacceptable.“, testifies Monique Antonietti, a 63-year-old retiree who says she feels “between hate and sadness“.
Yvan Colonna was violently attacked on March 2 in the sports hall of Arles prison (Bouches-du-Rhône) by a fellow prisoner who was serving a sentence for terrorism. After almost three weeks in a coma, this former shepherd died Monday evening at the age of 61 in a Marseille hospital.
His funeral celebrated this Friday in Cargèse
Since the announcement of his death, meditation has prevailed on the island, contrasting with the scenes of violence that have punctuated the various demonstrations of support for nearly two weeks.
Yvan Colonna’s funeral will take place this Friday at 3:00 p.m. in Cargèse, his family village of 1,300 inhabitants in western Corsica, according to sources familiar with the matter and Me Patrice Spinosi, one of the lawyers for the family of the deceased. . No details have filtered at this stage on the course of the ceremony.
The flags at half mast, a “fault” for Macron
The Collectivity of Corsica put its flags at half mast on Tuesday. Asked about this on Wednesday during an interview with M6, President Emmanuel Macron denounced “a fault“.”It’s inappropriate“, added, without further comment, the head of state.
Wednesday evening, a dozen Corsican flags lowered to half mast were hung by demonstrators at the exterior gates of the prefecture of Ajaccio, with the banner “Gloire à toi Yvan” in Corsica.