The French island of Corsica, renowned for its magnificent beaches, is in turmoil following the assault in prison of a nationalist militant seen by some as a hero and others as a cold-blooded murderer. Here are five things to know about France’s “Island of Beauty”, where Napoleon Bonaparte was born and British Admiral Lord Nelson lost an eye. Sea and mountains – The fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean after Sicily, Sardinia and Cyprus is a tourist magnet, with some 200 beaches.
A hikers’ paradise it has 120 mountain peaks of more than 2,000 metres (6,600 feet), with Monte Cinto the loftiest at 2,706 metres. – French, British, French again – After being conquered by the Romans and then falling under Byzantine rule, Corsica was ruled over by the Genoese of Italy before becoming French in 1768, just in time for the birth of future emperor Napoleon on the island a year later.
But for two years after the French Revolution the island was a self-governing part of the British empire. Caught up in the struggle between Paris and Corsican nationalists was British Admiral Lord Nelson, who lost the sight in his right eye in the Battle of Corsica in 1794.
Governor assassinated – The separatist National Liberation Front of Corsica (FLNC) launched a bombing campaign in the mid-1970s targeting state infrastructure and senior French officials. The violence by various clandestine groups continued through the 1980s and 1990s, culminating in the assassination of Claude Erignac.—Agencies
