From Bastia to Brussels: How the Re-emergence of Corsican Armed Separatism Is Overlooked in Wider European Security

The Mediterranean island of Corsica, long romanticised for its rugged landscape and cultural distinctiveness, is again confronting a political fault line with profound security implications. Beneath the tourist-friendly veneer, a quiet resurgence of armed separatism is taking shape, manifesting in symbolic arson attacks, threats against state representatives, and renewed nationalist mobilisation.

While France has historically internalised the Corsican issue as a matter of domestic governance, the recent uptick in militant rhetoric and operational sabotage raises questions with far broader relevance. In an era where the EU emphasises hybrid threats, border tensions, and internal cohesion, the latent return of nationalist militancy within a founding member state demands closer scrutiny.

This report explores how the reactivation of Corsican separatist currents, especially their armed wing potential, is being overlooked in European security discussions. It argues that failure to anticipate escalation could create a dangerous precedent for intra-EU conflict and substate radicalism during geopolitical volatility.

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Bastia to Brussels.pdf

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