Since Thursday October 3, Corsica has been blocked by a spontaneous and “unlimited” strike, triggered in reaction to questions about the management of Corsican airports and ports.
Transport to and from Corsica has been severely disrupted since Thursday October 3. The Corsican workers’ union (Sindicatu di i travagliadori corsi, or STC) has launched an “unlimited” strike movement, leading to the blockade of six ports and four airports on the Isle of Beauty. “All ports and airports in Haute-Corse are still blocked this morning,” the Haute-Corse prefecture told AFP on Friday, echoed by Provence.
Some lucky people were able to take the boat at 11 a.m. to Toulon from Bastia, and a few flights took off this morning from Bastia, Ajaccio, Figari and Calvi airports, details France 3 Corsica ViaStella. But these planes were able to leave due to territorial continuity, to allow people requiring care to reach hospitals on the continent. The other flights were canceled. Air Corsica announced 14 cancellations this Friday.
A misunderstanding at the root of the conflict?
Why did the situation suddenly flare up in Corsica? During the extraordinary general assembly of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI) held Thursday in Ajaccio, Alexandre Patrou, secretary general for Corsican Affairs and representative of the prefect, made “unacceptable” remarks. , estimates the STC. Alexandre Patrou has expressed doubts about the creation of two open joint unions (SMO) port and airport by the end of the year. This creation would make it possible to grant concessions to the island CCI so that it can continue to manage the island’s ports and airports from January 1, 2025, explains Provence. For the prefect’s representative, this would present “a significant legal risk”. He believes that the system cannot “circumvent the call for tenders” planned for any public contract.
Comments that went down badly on the side of Gilles Simeoni, autonomous president of the executive council of the island. “It is a declaration of war and I tell you again, for me it is not negotiable, there will be no international groups which will manage the ports and airports of Corsica,” he said Thursday. . He denounced “the decision that the State has just announced today, on the sly, without warning us and by denying its commitment and its word”. Following this rant, the CCI unions, led by the STC, launched a spontaneous strike movement.
“It is in no way a sentence,” Alexandre Patrou nevertheless responded to the assembly. “It is simply the evocation of a legal fragility that has been noted. It is simply a clarification that we are providing to you.”
Jobs under threat?
But are these blockages explained solely by this political conflict? According to Provencea financial difficulty would be behind the dispute. Gilles Simeoni is in fact demanding an additional 50 million euros from the State in order to compensate for inflation. The president of the executive council of Corsica believes that it was not taken into account in the sum allocated by the State to ensure territorial continuity between the island and the continent. And the new government is slow to give a response.
“Reindexing is not given and it is due, it is not begging to remind people of it,” Gilles Simeoni said on Friday at the Corsican Assembly. At the end of September, he warned that if this allocation was not granted, “we will be unable to maintain the execution of public service delegation contracts in the maritime and air sectors”, which would threaten “hundreds of “direct jobs”, notably at Air Corsica, Air France, Corsica Linea, La Méridionale, as well as “thousands of indirect jobs”.
The risks of being blocked for too long in Corsica
It is currently difficult to know how long the blockages will last. The situation could be resolved quickly if the political dispute is resolved, or drag on in the absence of a solution or agreement. Especially since no blockage of this magnitude has affected the island for 19 years. This Friday morning, certain brands have already been stormed by the Corsicans, who are taking the lead. In the past, port blockages had caused a shortage of food in supermarkets. The Isle of Beauty imports 95% of the continent’s goods, recalls The World.
Pending the resumption of travel, several people are being held on the island. Thursday evening, the prefecture made a gymnasium available to passengers stranded at Bastia airport. The travelers spent the night on camp beds, and do not know when they will be able to leave. Some passengers are even stranded at sea, and confined in Corsica Ferries ships that have not been able to disembark since Thursday. “We were supposed to disembark yesterday at 6:30 p.m.,” testified Solange, one of the passengers at France 3. A delay which could well turn into a nightmare, if nothing is done. “We have people on the boat who are in need of treatment,” reacts Anthony, also stuck on a boat. He cites passengers needing oxygen, people with diabetes or disabilities. “We can’t leave people in this state.”
In a press release from all the passengers on one of the ships, it is written: “It is essential that our rights are respected, and that the needs of certain people on board are taken into consideration. This situation cannot continue. We demand rapid action.”