Claude Jean Pierre Érignac (; 15 December 1937 – 6 February 1998) was a

French prefect A prefect (french: préfet, plural ''préfets'') in France is the state's representative in a department or region. Subprefects (French: ''sous-préfets'') are responsible for the subdivisions of departments, known as arrondissements. The offic ...

on the island of

Corsica Corsica ( , Upper , Southern ; it, Corsica; ; french: Corse ; lij, Còrsega; sc, Còssiga) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the 18 regions of France. It is the fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of ...

. Érignac was born in

Mende, Lozère Mende (, ) is a communes of France, commune and the prefectures in France, prefecture of the departments of France, department of Lozère, in the regions of France, region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Southern France. Its demo ...

. In the course of his political career, he had been prefect of several departments and

overseas departments The overseas departments and regions of France (french: départements et régions d'outre-mer, ; ''DROM'') are departments of France that are outside metropolitan France, the European part of France. They have exactly the same status as mainlan ...

since 1967. In 1996 he went to

Ajaccio Ajaccio (, , ; French: ; it, Aiaccio or ; co, Aiacciu , locally: ; la, Adiacium) is a French commune, prefecture of the department of Corse-du-Sud, and head office of the ''Collectivité territoriale de Corse'' (capital city of Corsica). ...

to take office as the

Prefect Prefect (from the Latin ''praefectus'', substantive adjectival form of ''praeficere'': "put in front", meaning in charge) is a magisterial title of varying definition, but essentially refers to the leader of an administrative area. A prefect's ...

Corse-du-Sud Corse-du-Sud (; co, link=no, Corsica suttana , or ; en, Southern Corsica) is (as of 2019) an administrative department of France, consisting of the southern part of the island of Corsica. The corresponding departmental territorial collect ...

. He was assassinated at 9:15 p.m. on 6 February 1998 in Ajaccio on his way to a

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...

concert by two gunmen who shot him three times with a 9 mm Beretta pistol. The weapon had been stolen on 6 September 1997, when members of the

National Liberation Front of Corsica The National Liberation Front of Corsica ( co, Fronte di liberazione naziunale di a Corsica or ; french: Front de libération nationale corse, abbreviated FLNC) was a militant group that advocates an independent state on the island of Corsica, se ...

stormed a

gendarmerie Wrong info! --> A gendarmerie () is a military force with law enforcement duties among the civilian population. The term ''gendarme'' () is derived from the medieval French expression ', which translates to " men-at-arms" (literally, ...

barracks at

Pietrosella Pietrosella ( co, Pitrusedda) is a French commune in the department of Corse-du-Sud, on the island of Corsica. History On 6 September 1997, members of the National Liberation Front of Corsica stormed a gendarmerie barracks at Pietrosella. T ...

n nationalist militant

Yvan Colonna Yvan Colonna ( co, Ivanu Colonna, ; 7 April 1960 – 21 March 2022) was a French Corsican nationalist convicted for the assassination in 1998 of the prefect of Corse-du-Sud, Claude Érignac. He was beaten to death in prison by a jihadist inmate, ...

was suspected of the killing, and was arrested in 2003. He was found guilty for the third time in June 2011 for the murder and sentenced to

life imprisonment Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment for a crime under which convicted people are to remain in prison for the rest of their natural lives or indefinitely until pardoned, paroled, or otherwise commuted to a fixed term. Crimes for ...

. Érignac's wife, children and some associates established the Claude-Érignac Association soon after his death. The bylaws of the association were published in the ''Journal officiel'' on 5 February 2000. The French

Ministry of the Interior An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministry ...

Place Beauvau Place Beauvau (English: Beauvau Square) is a public square in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, at the intersection of the Rue du Faubourg-Saint-Honoré, Avenue de Marigny, Rue des Saussaies and Rue de Miromesnil. It is located in the La Madelein ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, inaugurated a hall in his name in the ministry.

References

1937 births 1998 deaths People from Mende, Lozère University of Paris alumni Sciences Po alumni École nationale d'administration alumni Assassinated French politicians French murder victims People murdered in France Prefects of France Prefects of Meurthe-et-Moselle Prefects of Yvelines Prefects of Corse-du-Sud Deaths by firearm in France French civil servants {{CorseSud-politician-stub