2017 Corsican territorial election
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The 2017 Corsican territorial elections were held on 3 and 10 December 2017 to elect 63 members of the
Corsican Assembly The Corsican Assembly ( co, Assemblea di Corsica; french: L'Assemblée de Corse) is the unicameral legislative body of the territorial collectivity of Corsica. It has its seat at the , in the Corsican capital of Ajaccio. After the 2017 territo ...
who in turn will determine the composition of the
Executive Council of Corsica The Corsican Assembly ( co, Assemblea di Corsica; french: L'Assemblée de Corse) is the unicameral legislative body of the territorial collectivity of Corsica. It has its seat at the , in the Corsican capital of Ajaccio. After the 2017 territ ...
. The elections, held only two years after the 2015 territorial elections, were called as a result of the planned creation of a single collectivity within Corsica resulting from the mergers of two departments (
Haute-Corse Haute-Corse (; co, Corsica suprana , or ; en, Upper Corsica) is (as of 2022) an administrative department of France, consisting of the northern part of the island of Corsica. The corresponding departmental territorial collectivity merged wi ...
and
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 ...
) and the existing territorial collectivity of Corsica. The nationalist alliance
Pè a Corsica Pè a Corsica ( en, For Corsica) was a Corsican nationalist political alliance in France, which was calling for more autonomy for Corsica. More specifically, it was a coalition of the two Corsican nationalist parties active on the island; that ...
between autonomist Femu a Corsica and separatist
Corsica Libera ''Corsica Libera'' (, en, Free Corsica) is a Left-wing politics, left-wing separatism, separatist political party active in Corsica. It was founded in Corte, Haute-Corse, Corte in February 2009 by members of three nationalist parties, ''Corsica Na ...
won an outright majority of seats in the assembly under the list led by
Gilles Simeoni Gilles Simeoni (, ; born 20 April 1967) is a lawyer in France and a politician. He was mayor of Bastia from 2014 to 2016 and has been president of the executive council of Corsica since 2015. Notably, Simeoni served as the Corsican nationalist ...
.


Background

Territorial elections to elect the
Corsican Assembly The Corsican Assembly ( co, Assemblea di Corsica; french: L'Assemblée de Corse) is the unicameral legislative body of the territorial collectivity of Corsica. It has its seat at the , in the Corsican capital of Ajaccio. After the 2017 territo ...
were held on 3 and 10 December as a result of the creation of a single collectivity replacing the existing departments of
Haute-Corse Haute-Corse (; co, Corsica suprana , or ; en, Upper Corsica) is (as of 2022) an administrative department of France, consisting of the northern part of the island of Corsica. The corresponding departmental territorial collectivity merged wi ...
and
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 ...
and the existing territorial collectivity of Corsica on 1 January 2018. While the creation of a territorial collectivity was rejected by voters in Corsica in a 2003 referendum, the 42 of 51 members of the
Corsican Assembly The Corsican Assembly ( co, Assemblea di Corsica; french: L'Assemblée de Corse) is the unicameral legislative body of the territorial collectivity of Corsica. It has its seat at the , in the Corsican capital of Ajaccio. After the 2017 territo ...
voted in support of a proposal to create a single territorial collectivity on 12 December 2014, with the support of the national government. The initiative was pushed by nationalists on the island, who won a majority of seats in the 2015 territorial elections, who argued that the division of Corsica into separate departments produced "nests of clientelism". While the duration of the term of the assembly is usually six years, the elections will be held early on the occasion of the creation of the single collectivity, with the territorial elections still planned for 2021. From 1 January 2018, the two departments will be dissolved, with the capital based in
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). ...
and an advisory "chamber of territories" in
Bastia Bastia (, , , ; co, Bastìa ) is a commune in the department of Haute-Corse, Corsica, France. It is located in the northeast of the island of Corsica at the base of Cap Corse. It also has the second-highest population of any commune on the is ...
composed of local elected officials alongside the assembly. The assembly will expand from 51 to 63 members, with the executive council to expand from 9 to 11 members (including the president).


Electoral system

Unless a single list receives a majority of votes in the first round, a second round will be held, in which lists obtaining at least 7 percent of the overall vote in the first round will automatically advance, while those receiving between 5 and 7 percent will be offered the chance to merge with a list that received at least 7 percent of the vote. In the second round, the list receiving a plurality of votes will receive an 18% bonus representing 11 seats in the assembly, with the remaining seats allocated proportionally based on the vote percentage for each list. The newly elected assembly then appoints the members of the executive council by a first-past-the-post vote requiring an absolute majority, voting on a list of 11 individuals – the president and ten councilors to the president.


Lists and candidates

Following the start of the official campaign on 20 November, seven lists will be presented in Corsica, with the ecologist list of Jean-Francois Baccarelli, "A voce di a natura corsa", suspended due to a lack of funds. No list of the
Socialist Party Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of t ...
(PS) or
Radical Party of the Left The Radical Party of the Left (french: Parti radical de gauche, PRG) is a social-liberal political party in France. A party in the Radical tradition, since 1972 the PRG was a close ally of the major party of the centre-left in France, the Soc ...
(PRG) will be presented due to the conviction and imprisonment of
Paul Giacobbi Paul Giacobbi (born 4 June 1957 in Courbevoie, Hauts-de-Seine) was a member of the National Assembly of France until he retired at the 2017 Parliamentary Elections. He represented the 2nd constituency of the Haute-Corse department, and is a ...
for embezzlement of public funds in January 2017. The nationalist alliance between autonomist Femu a Corsica and separatist
Corsica Libera ''Corsica Libera'' (, en, Free Corsica) is a Left-wing politics, left-wing separatism, separatist political party active in Corsica. It was founded in Corte, Haute-Corse, Corte in February 2009 by members of three nationalist parties, ''Corsica Na ...
,
Pè a Corsica Pè a Corsica ( en, For Corsica) was a Corsican nationalist political alliance in France, which was calling for more autonomy for Corsica. More specifically, it was a coalition of the two Corsican nationalist parties active on the island; that ...
, was renewed for the 2017 elections under
Gilles Simeoni Gilles Simeoni (, ; born 20 April 1967) is a lawyer in France and a politician. He was mayor of Bastia from 2014 to 2016 and has been president of the executive council of Corsica since 2015. Notably, Simeoni served as the Corsican nationalist ...
, but did not directly address the question of independence. A second nationalist list, "Core in fronte" representing
Rinnovu Rinnovu Naziunale () is a separatist political party active in Corsica, France. History Rinnovu was a member of Corsica Libera between 2008 and 2012. References External linksOfficial website Political parties in Corsica Political parties ...
, was presented by Paul-Félix Benedetti, supporting a self-determination referendum to restore an independent Corsican state and critical of a disorderly "mafia society" on the island. While Benedetti proposed an alliance with Pé a Corsica, Simeoni rejected the idea. Jean-Charles Orsucci obtained the nomination of
La République En Marche! Renaissance (RE), previously known as La République En Marche ! (frequently abbreviated LREM, LaREM or REM; translated as "The Republic on the Move" or "Republic Forward"), or sometimes called simply En Marche ! () as its original name, is a l ...
(REM), while the National Front (FN) presented a list, "Rassemblement pour une Corse républicaine", led by Charles Giacomi. Two opposing lists on the right failed to receive the nomination of The Republicans (LR). Valérie Bozzi, LR mayor of Grosseto-Prugna-Porticcio, leads the list "Voir plus grand", with the unofficial support of the party, while Jean-Martin Mondoloni leads a regionalist right list, "La voie de l'avenir, a strada di l'avvene". "La Corse Insoumise", supporters of
Jean-Luc Mélenchon Jean-Luc Antoine Pierre Mélenchon (; born 19 August 1951) is a French politician who was a member of the National Assembly for the 4th constituency of Bouches-du-Rhône from 2017 to 2022. He led the ''La France Insoumise'' group in the Nation ...
, allied with the
French Communist Party The French Communist Party (french: Parti communiste français, ''PCF'' ; ) is a political party in France which advocates the principles of communism. The PCF is a member of the Party of the European Left, and its MEPs sit in the European Unit ...
(PCF) under the list "L'avenir, la Corse en commun – L'avvene, a Corsica in cummunu"; however, the list lacks the support of
La France Insoumise La France Insoumise (FI or LFI; ; "France Unbowed") is a left-wing populist political party in France, launched in 2016 by Jean-Luc Mélenchon, then a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) and former co-president of the Left Party (PG). It aim ...
, with Mélenchon denouncing any alliance with the PCF. After the first round, Jacques Casamarta announced that his list would not join an alliance in order to compete in the second round. Paul-Félix Benedetti, leader of Rinnovu, also ruled out any alliance with Pé a Corsica, as he had during the campaign. Jean-Charles Orsucci, leader of the "Andà Per Dumane !" list, rejected an alliance against the nationalists. Though Jean-Martin Mondoloni and Valérie Bozzi, the leaders of the two lists on the right, made contact the evening of the election, an alliance was considered unlikely, given the degree of the nationalists' success in the first round. Mondolini stated the following day that the two lists would not merge, meaning that four lists contested the second round.


Results


References


External links


Results of past regional elections from the Ministry of the Interior
{{DEFAULTSORT:Corsica territorial election (2017) Politics of Corsica 2017 elections in France December 2017 events in France
Corse Corsica ( , Upper , Southern ; it, Corsica; ; french: Corse ; lij, Còrsega; sc, Còssiga) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the Regions of France, 18 regions of France. It is the fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and ...
Elections in Corsica