It’s an idea that hasn’t fallen on deaf ears. Emmanuel Macron’s proposal to “build autonomy in Corsica” was immediately welcomed by the regional presidents, in particular the Breton Loïg Chesnais-Girard, who called for “the same thing” to free himself from a ” backward-looking centralism.
“I hear that the President of the Republic is talking about more freedom, autonomy for Corsica, to act in important areas like housing, languages or other subjects, well we are asking the same thing,” he declared during a press point at the end of the Congress of the Regions of France.
Towards autonomy for other regions?
“There are no mature and responsible elected officials on the one hand who can have the rights to act on a daily basis for their residents and other elected officials who will remain in a backward-looking centralism,” insisted Loïg Chesnais-Girard, who took advantage of the arrival of Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne to submit a report detailing her wishes for “stronger decentralization”.
At his side, Occitan Carole Delga said she welcomed “rather positively but cautiously” this “openness” from the head of state, who has until now remained “fairly hermetic on the issue”. “I am certain that this opening for Corsica will also be beneficial for the overseas territories, Brittany or other regions,” she added.
A few days ago, the transpartisan working group on autonomy handed over to the president of the Brittany region a long report on the question of regional autonomycalling in particular for a new system of public regulation of housing and habitat.