In Bastia, in the north of the island, several thousand people took part in the protest, according to local media. Police had already closed some streets and banned fireworks as a precaution, after recent demonstrations had also turned into violent riots.
Attack on prisoner
Demonstrations have been going on in Corsica for over a week. The reason is the attack on the Corsican separatist Yvan Colonna by a fellow prisoner, in which Colonna was seriously injured. The 61-year-old separatist, who received a life sentence for the murder of the governor of Corsica in 1998, has been in a coma since the attack. Protesters accuse French authorities of failing to transfer Colonna to a prison in Corsica against his request.
Colonna, who was only arrested in 2003 after being found as a shepherd in the Corsican mountains after a five-year manhunt, is still regarded by many nationalist Corsicans as a hero in the fight for independence from France.