It has been three years since Gilles Simeoni, President of the Executive Council of Corsica, promised the opening of discussions on mafia drift within the island of beauty. But the coronavirus crisis, the legislative elections and the assassination of Yvan Colonna will have got the better of the calendar. In recent weeks, two anti-mafia associations have sounded the alarm, worrying about a possible expansion of mafia groups in Corsica in the event of autonomy.
The collectives “Massimu Susini” and “A maffia nò-A vita iè” (no to the mafia, yes to life) are counting on the arrival in Corsica of the Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, this Friday, within the framework of negotiations on the institutional development of the island, to put the subject back on the table.
Public procurement in the sights of the mafia
For associations, there is no question of dissociating the two subjects. The autonomy of the island and the mafia phenomenon must be treated together: “How can we consider autonomy, which would give more powers to local elected officials, when they themselves are under pressure from the mafia? asks Jean-Toussaint Plasenzotti, member of the “Massimu Susini” collectivenamed after his nephew, a nationalist activist assassinated in Cargèse (Southern Corsica) in September 2019. Since decentralization, which granted more powers to the regions, the Assembly of Corsica manages colossal expenditure, in particular that of public contracts .
Among these contracts, that of waste management on the island, estimated at several tens of millions of euros. A juicy market which has obviously not escaped the Corsican mafia. “There are huge financial stakes around future treatment centers. You only have to look at the number of fires and deaths over the past ten years around waste companies to understand that organized crime is already on the case, “says Fabrice Rizzoli, researcher and co-founder of the Crim’HALT association. “In Corsica, there are hardly any major calls for tenders for public markets, some companies take them over almost immediately”, denounces, for his part, Léo Battesti, co-founder of the collective “A maffia nò-A vita iè” and former militant figure of the FLNC.
Jean-Toussaint Plasenzotti, he does not hesitate to point the finger at the elected officials, criticizing their “deafening silence”: “The elected officials have difficulty in expressing themselves clearly on the mafia influence. Out of fear, out of indifference, and in some cases, out of complicity. To say nothing or look away is to participate in this system, ”he continues, believing that the existence of porosity between elected officials and the mafia is recognized by some elected officials themselves. And autonomy may not improve the situation. “Giving them more power without solving the problem, this problem, is heading for drama. The mafia could become the real power on the island,” he adds. ” It’s necessary [l’autonomie] be virtuous. The Corsican institutions must not be under pressure from mafia lobbying”, claims Léo Battesti.
“The presence of organized crime on the island is impressive”
In addition to fraud in public contracts, real estate speculation and drug trafficking constitute the rest of the “three evils of Corsica”, according to the terms used by Gilles Simeoni, at the beginning of July. If the grip of the mafia in the real estate sector worries, in particular because of the outbreak of “tacit” building permits, it is above all the expansion of drug trafficking that worries the associations. On June 20, the dismantling of a drug network on the island led to the indictment of 17 people, the imprisonment of ten people and the seizure of twelve kilos of cocaine and cannabis as well as 100,000 euros in cash. A traffic that would have generated more than 3 million euros in profits. “Most often, the money is laundered and reinjected into legal businesses, it is untraceable”, describes Fabrice Rizzoli.
Threats, racketeering, fires and assassinations… For those who are approached by mafia gangs, it is often almost impossible to say no. “Very concretely, these are bars, hotels, companies to which the mafia asks for something, it can be money, a fictitious job, a free product, explains the researcher. If they refuse, the establishment is burnt down, or even killed. »
At the end of June, Jean-Christophe Mocchi, a successful entrepreneur, was shot dead in Propriano. The 55-year-old man, who had received several threats about a real estate project on one of his lands, had already been the victim of a first assassination attempt, in October 2021. “He didn’t want to go back in the mould, he paid for it with his life, ”says Léo Battesti, who also saw his name inscribed in a drawing of a coffin on a wall in Ajaccio. “Given the number of homicides, attacks and fires, related to the size of the island and the population, the presence of organized crime on the island is impressive”, observes Fabrice Rizzoli.
A legal arsenal
However, some authorities had already sounded the alarm. In 2020, in a report submitted to the Ministry of Justice, the specialized interregional jurisdiction (Jirs) of Marseille, dedicated to the fight against organized crime, had nevertheless called for the creation of an anti-Mafia center endowed with special powers. In vain. Criticizing the denial of elected officials and the state on the Mafia issue, the associations are asking the public authorities to fulfill their part of the contract. “Current legislation is no longer sufficient. If the evil progresses, it is because the remedy is not sufficient”, denounces Jean-Toussaint Plasenzotti. And the remedy, the two anti-Mafia associations have already thought about it.
They propose in particular the creation of a mafia association offence, as is the case in Italy, the redistribution to the “people” of confiscated property and the establishment of a status of justice cooperator. “It’s about someone who worked for the mafia, who wants to get out of it, who gives information in exchange for protection,” explains Massimu Susini’s uncle. “If we make institutional cathedrals, and everything inside is rotten, it’s useless,” sighs Léo Battesti.
After three years of waiting, the leader of the nationalists, Gilles Simeoni, promised to devote an extraordinary session of the Assembly of Corsica to the mafia phenomenon “by the end of October”.