A week after an attack on pro-independence activist Yvan Colonna in prison, anger spilled onto the streets of Corsica overnight leading to the forced entry into an Ajaccio courthouse, with several injured in the clashes.
Colonna, who is convicted of the murder of the regional prefect Claude Erignac in 1998, has been in a coma after being violently attacked last week by a fellow prisoner incarcerated on terrorism charges.
Demonstrations have multiplied across the island - rallied by students, nationalist organizations and trade unions - who accuse the French state of bearing a heavy responsibility for Colonna's condition.
On Wednesday evening, several hundred people gathered in the cities of Ajaccio, Calvi and Bastia, but the situation quickly descended into violence when clashes broke out between some protesters and the police.
Situation hors de contrôle à #Ajaccio. Des manifestants se sont introduits dans le Palais de Justice où un incendie est en cours après le jet d'un cocktail molot*v. #Corse #YvanColonna #Colonna pic.twitter.com/3JHMM1kmAP
— Anonyme Citoyen (@AnonymeCitoyen) March 9, 2022
Courthouse attacked
In the Corsican capital Ajaccio, the scuffles continued until midnight and demonstrators broke into the city's courthouse, which was closed at the time.
Attempts to set fire the hall and facade of the court building were quickly extinguished by the fire brigade.
The director of the fire and rescue services in southern Corsica remarked: "There was a fire on the ground floor of the courthouse, but it did not spread to the upper floors."
According to the police, there were at least two arrests.
Similar demonstrations also took place in Bastia and Calvi, with police claiming protesters were armed with molotov cocktails, home-made bombs, iron balls and slingshots, with the CRS anti-riot unit responding with tear gas.
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Too little, too late for pro-independence activists
Yvan Colonna has been imprisoned in the central prison of Arles, on the French mainland, and has consistently asked to be transferred to Corsica.
His requests have been systematically refused because of his status as a "high-profile prisoner".
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Jean Castex lifted this status, but the decision to return Colonna to Corsica is considered too little, too late for activists as the pro-independence leader is fighting for his life at a hospital in Marseille since the attack on 2 March.
Meanwhile, some nationalist movements are calling for the protests to continue, and are due to hold a rally in Bastia on Sunday.
This comes as Colonna's family have expressed their reluctance to support a continuation of the demonstrations.
