Many Western countries have a strong desire for territory.
However, for France, its own territory (not an overseas territory far away) is becoming more and more chicken.
Without it, the French people could not accept it, and the locals were reluctant to completely independent or leave France; to continue to maintain this territory, they had to suffer all kinds of noise, and they had to take care of the differences between the residents here and the French nation.
This territory is the French island of Corsica, which is also the birthplace of Napoleon.
Map of the location of various regions in France and Corsica
On corsica, which speaks a Corsican language that is different from French, and Corsica is geographically closer to Italy, why did it become a French territory? Why do the French think that Corsica is a chicken rib that is "tasteless and abandoned"?
<h1>(1) The combination of yin and yang</h1>
From the thirteenth to the eighteenth century, Corsica was the territory of the Republic of Genoa in Italy, but because Corsica strongly opposed Genoese rule, in 1768, Genoese sold this "hot potato" to France.
Of course, for the Corsicans, this is not the first time that the owner has changed. Prior to this, the Phoenicians, Fosians, Carthaginians, Romans, Byzantines, Lombards, Saracens, Pizzas, and Aragonese successively occupied and invaded the "fourth largest island in the Mediterranean".
But the Corsicans all said "non-violent and uncooperative". Therefore, the traditional culture of the Corsicans has maintained its unique purity for thousands of years, and it has also created the tradition of the Corsicans who do not tame and resist foreign invasions.
But at this time, the life of the French king was not good, and the centralization of power in France did not exist since ancient times. During the long Middle Ages, France also experienced years of division like Germany.
But when France became strong, its main national goals became colonization and hegemony in Europe. To be honest, a place like Corsica was really not up to the French at the time.
The French did not look up to it, and the Genoese could regard Corsica as a "treasure" and exploit the resources of the island like crazy. This practice caused resentment among the Corsicans, who in the 18th century led the masses to rise up the independence movement, leaving Genoa miserable. The Genoese decided to find a buyer for Corsica and quickly "cash out".
As for the buyers, except for France, which is close to Corsica, probably no one wants to take over.
In 1768, France was the time when the foreign war (the Seven Years' War) was gradually defeated, and in the face of Genoa's initiative to donate soil, France naturally smiled, just to divert domestic contradictions and reflect the majesty of The French power in front of the people.
The Corsicans showed great dissatisfaction and anger in the face of the fact that Genoa had sold them to France. This anger manifested itself in their fierce resistance to the French.
By this time the French had no time to take care of the Corsicans, because the American Revolutionary War broke out, and the French were doing their best to block the British. As long as Corsica doesn't make too much trouble, the French will almost "ignore it".
After that, Corsica was indeed very depressed in the big family of France, and it was seriously affected in all wars. At the end of World War II, there were only 100,000 inhabitants on the island (300,000 before World War II).
France had thought that corsicans would completely surrender to themselves sooner or later, but they did not expect that more than 300 years later, the situation still did not improve.
<h1>(ii) Even more terrifying than separation is the Cold War! </h1>
Today, when separatism is prevalent in the West, Corsica is equally restless, and there are always Corsicans who want to emerge from France. Although centuries have passed, the reality that Corsica belongs to France has not changed.
France has also spared no effort to instill its native culture in Corsica, but Corsicans obviously do not eat this set and still retain their culture for thousands of years.
▲ Corsica has a unique culture that is different from the French inland, which is corsica's wooden shoe dance
This led to an embarrassing situation today, where not only the Corsicans look down on the French, but the French also look down on the Corsicans. Even because Corsica is far from the mainland, the French people do not know about it, which leads to great prejudice. For example, in French jokes, many of the protagonists are Corsicans. Here's a look at the Frenchman's ability to humor:
The two Corsicans each slept on a bench in the morning, when the wind blew a sheet of 500 euros to their eyes, and one of them inadvertently glanced at it and went to sleep. After a few minutes, he yawned casually and said, "Oh, if there hadn't been a gust of wind blowing, we would have sent it."
Behind such ridicule is a naked snub, that is, the "Corsicans" are regarded as outsiders.
Of course, Corsicans and French are not completely without common topics, and the famous Napoleon in history is a Corsican. But the Corsicans were not proud of Napoleon, but instead regarded him as "a betrayer of the Corsican independence movement".
At first, Napoleon originally supported corsican independence, but because he became the emperor of France, the pattern was different, and naturally he hoped that Corsica would listen to France.
Napoleon had a very high status in French history, and after his death his cemetery was built in the Les Invalides in the center of Paris
Until now, the Corsicans still have a low opinion of Napoleon. Although the history museum of Corsica contains artifacts about Napoleon, few people here regard him as a hero and will not be proud of him.
Although the Corsicans were not interested in Napoleon, Napoleon was supreme in the hearts of the French. This is one of the reasons why the French are reluctant to become independent of Corsica. After all, Napoleon was the symbol of France.
If Corsica had become independent, Napoleon would no longer have been purely French. For the French, who have a heroic complex, this must be a huge blow.
Although Corsica does not have independence now, the reality is still not optimistic.
For example, on the night of October 27, 2002, there were many explosions in Corsica, and the discerning people could see that the perpetrator was to swear the independence of Corsica, but no one was willing to break through this layer of window paper.
It was not until the following year that the French authorities prosecuted the mastermind of the bombing, as well as the leader of the Corsican independence movement, for "homicide", which triggered a mass demonstration by Corsicans and clashed with the police.
For a time, the local government and police station in Corsica became the "old place" patronized by shells. France has even defined the Corsican independence movement as an "act of terror," but Corsica's "independence flair" is growing stronger and stronger.
For example, in the 2017 local democratic elections in Corsica, the nationalist Smolney relied on the slogan "For Corsica" to incite emotions and won a big victory, which tasted that the Corsican independence movement was on the "political table" for the first time.
Fortunately, in recent years, the Corsican independence movement has changed from an act of terror to a political game or a party competition.
Campaign poster of the Corsican independent party in the 2015 local elections
Nevertheless, the Corsicans retained their first weapons. The Corsican answer is to prevent the "invasion" of refugees from the Middle East and Africa, and we do not know what the real purpose is.
In addition to the provocation of the separatists, the isolated terrain of Corsica is inherently strongly exclusive, and the protectionism of the island countries makes them very reluctant to the French intervention. At the same time, due to corsican poverty, the French generally looked down on them and did not intermarry with them. Coupled with the fact that the Corsicans do not speak French, a sense of national identity cannot be established at all.
▲ The symbol of the Corsican independence movement
The two sides originally hated each other, and the arrival of the former french colonial population gave the Corsicans a headache.
This is the "refugee invasion" mentioned above, which seriously undermines the living conditions of the Corsicans who are "not in the first place". As for why refugees come to Corsica, the first Corsica is close to Africa, besides, the French "romantic life" refugees can not be integrated, and Corsica, which is not particularly developed, is indeed a good place in their eyes.
The arrival of the refugees not only undermined the local order, but also appropriated the financial assistance provided by France to the Corsicans. This made the Corsicans miserable, and the French wanted to take care of it, but looking at the "black storm" on the streets of Paris, they could only sigh silently.
▲ The streets of Paris are also full of chaos
France's "inaction" against the refugee invasion only deepened Corsica's hatred of France.
The above factors have already separated France and Corsican from Germany, and coupled with the intervention of foreign powers, the Corsican problem has become more complicated.
Corsicans are not very fond of the French, but they have a little more affection for Italians who are more similar in language, which makes Italians look at Corsican as an "ex-girlfriend".
During World War II, Mussolini in Italy also clamored to recover Corsica, and to this day, in the Corsica independence movement, there are still Italians who intentionally or unintentionally "mix".
<h1>(iii) Corsica, which cannot be separated and is difficult to truly integrate</h1>
France is one of the few centralized countries in the West, pursuing a monocultural policy, and the first article of its constitution emphasizes the "indivisibility" of the French nation.
But in order to take care of the emotions of the Corsicans, the French gave way again and again, and did not hesitate to run counter to the founding principle of "single indivisibility".
In 1982, France began the reform of decentralization. Corsica benefited the most from this reform, which was given a special local administrative structure. Since then, France has increased the local autonomy of Corsica several times.
So much so that two years ago, France established the "Corsican Administrative Region" with a special status within the framework of Article 72 of the Constitution of the Republic.
In fact, the vast majority of people, whether in Paris or Corsica, oppose corsica independence because the people do not want France to lose its former territory again.
Most ordinary people in Corsica also believe that, after all, Corsica is not Barcelona with a good port, nor is it Scotland with iron ore resources. How to live after independence is indeed a big problem facing the Corsicans.
Corsica's economy is arguably the penultimate in France (excluding overseas territories). The mountainous terrain did not have the slightest advantage in the industrial age. Corsica's economy is still largely dependent on aid, with Corsica receiving €2 billion in development assistance from the French government in 2002 alone.
Although Corsica has "the most beautiful beaches in Europe", the current tourism prospects are good, and the development of Tourism in Corsica has also stained a lot of French "tourism power" reputation, but if there is no good infrastructure and social order, sooner or later tourists will "avoid it".
▲ The scenery of Corsica
Independence is not achieved, so what about leaving France and going elsewhere? Merged with Italy, Italy advocates multiculturalism, compared to the French centralized and monocultural, Italy seems to be more tolerant of Corsica, but Italy's own economy is still facing various crises, how to support the already difficult Corsica?
How about forming a new country after independence with Catalonia (which belongs to Spain), which also has independence tendencies? From an economic point of view, Catalonia is relatively better economically and culturally closer to Corsica. However, the independence of Catalonia was originally opposed by the major European countries, and once Corsica established an independent state with it, it would inevitably be isolated by many European countries.
France and Corsica's "road to emotional restoration" still has a long way to go. It is not so much that France is reluctant to Corsica as it is nostalgic for that glorious era. Corsica is not so much inseparable from France as they cannot find the way forward.