independence activist Yvan Colonna seriously injured after an attack in prison

One of France’s best-known prisoners, Yvan Colonna, is between life and death. This Wednesday, March 2, around 10 a.m., in the central prison of Arles (Bouches-du-Rhône) where he was imprisoned, the Corsican independence activist was violently attacked by another detainee. The latter, convicted of terrorism, notably strangled him. The facts took place in the gym, when they were alone. There was no dispute between the two men, according to supervisors.

On the evening of February 6, 1998, the prefect of Corsica Claude Erignac was shot in the back in a small street in Ajaccio. A year later, four Corsican independence activists were arrested and named Yvan Colonna as the shooter. In July 2003, after four years on the run, the former Corsican shepherd was arrested. Yvan Colonna was definitively sentenced in July 2011 to life imprisonment.