CORSICA, France — Corsica’s nationalist leaders were demonstrating on Saturday along with unions and students ahead of a visit this week by French President Emmanuel Macron.
The newly elected leaders on the French Mediterranean island hoped that Saturday’s march would spur on fresh talks with the French government about demands including equal status for the Corsican language and the release of Corsican detainees held in mainland prisons.
In December, Corsican nationalists swept the election for a new regional assembly, crushing Macron’s young centrist movement and traditional parties. The nationalists want more autonomy from Paris but unlike some in Spain’s nearby Catalonia, they aren’t seeking full independence yet.