The Beauvau process, initiated by the Ministry of the Interior to oversee the establishment of possible autonomy for Corsica, seems to be coming to an end. The government and island elected officials agreed, on the night of Monday March 11 to Tuesday March 12, on a project to“constitutional writing” foreseeing “the recognition of a status of autonomy” from the island “within the Republic”announced Gérald Darmanin.
This draft agreement, which obtained a “broad consensus” among elected officials, will now be sent to the Corsican Territorial Assembly so that it can vote on it, the Minister of the Interior told the press, after a meeting lasting almost five hours at the ministry.
The text “respects both the red lines set by the President of the Republic and myself, and also the time allotted” by Emmanuel Macron, a six-month period supposed to end at the end of March and lead to an agreement, underlined the minister.
The minister and the island elected officials present, including Gilles Simeoni, autonomist president of the Executive Council of Corsica, and Laurent Marcangeli, deputy for Corsica-du-Sud and president of the Horizons group in the National Assembly, notably found unanimous agreement on the first paragraph of this “writing”.
“This constitutional writing provides for the recognition of a status of autonomy for Corsica within the Republic, which takes into account its own interests linked to its Mediterranean insularity, to its historical, linguistic and cultural community having developed a singular link to his land »says this first paragraph.
Legislative power at the heart of the debates
Government and elected officials also agreed on the fact that “laws and regulations may be subject to adaptation” on the island, added the minister. In this sense, an organic law, which will complement the constitutional writing, “will say in which areas Corsica will be able to set normative rules, whether legislative or regulatory”detailed Mr. Darmanin.
Mr. Simeoni estimated that a “not decisive” had been achieved at the end of this meeting, welcoming that “the principle of a power of a legislative nature, subject to control by the Constitutional Council, is now clearly established”. “The extent and modalities of exercise of this legislative power (…) will fall under the organic law (…). I would say that tonight we are in the semi-final, the semi-final and the final still have to be won.”he declared to the press.
“I remain determined to think that the granting of legislative power is a problem, but I am not going to take on the role of executioner of the process”reacted the leader of the local opposition to the separatists in the Corsican Assembly, Jean-Martin Mondoloni, leaving doubt about his support for the text in the local chamber.
On the same line, the senator from Corsica-du-Sud Jean-Jacques Panunzi (Les Républicains, LR), repeated that he was “fiercely opposed to legislative power” which would be attributed to the community, although others want “go much further”. The President of the Senate, Gérard Larcher, and that of the LR group in the Senate, Bruno Retailleau, for whom “law remains and must remain in Parliament”, are “they are also fiercely opposed to legislative power”.
“No separation of Corsica from the Republic”
Mr. Darmanin assured that this text in no way provided for there to be in Corsica “two categories of citizens”. “There is no concept of people [corse] but of cultural community »he detailed, also dismissing everything “resident status” on the island. “We have moved towards autonomy” And “there is no separation of Corsica from the Republic”, especially since we “does not evoke the people, nor the status of resident, nor the co-officiality of the language”summarized Mr. Darmanin.
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“The constitutional writing finally provides that voters registered on the electoral lists of Corsica be consulted on this project”he assured.
After consultation with the Corsican Assembly, “the President of the Republic will initiate constitutional reform, whenever he wishes”continued the minister, recalling that the text must be voted on by both houses of Parliament in the same terms, then adopted by Congress by a three-fifths majority.