Claude Jean Pierre Érignac (; 15 December 1937 – 6 February 1998) was a French prefect on the island of

Corsica Corsica ( , , ; ; ) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the Regions of France, 18 regions of France. It is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of the Metro ...

. 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 dem ...

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

departments Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military * Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

and

overseas departments The overseas departments and regions of France (, ; DROM) are the five departments and regions of the French Republic which are located outside European France (also known as "metropolitan France"). These overseas entities have exactly the same ...

since 1967. In 1996 he went to

Ajaccio Ajaccio (, , ; French language, French: ; or ; , locally: ; ) is the capital and largest city of Corsica, France. It forms a communes of France, French commune, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Corse-du-Sud, and head o ...

to take office as the Prefect of

Corse-du-Sud Corse-du-Sud (; , or ; ) is (as of 2019) an administrative department of France, consisting of the southern part of the island of Corsica. The corresponding departmental territorial collectivity merged with that of Haute-Corse on 1 January ...

Assassination

Claude Érignac was on his way to a

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be #Relationship to other music traditions, distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical mu ...

concert in Ajaccio when he was assassinated at 9:15 p.m. on 6 February 1998 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 ( or ; , Abbreviation, abbreviated FLNC) is a name used by various Guerrilla warfare, guerrilla and paramilitary organizations that advocate an Independence, independent or Autonomy, autonomous state on t ...

stormed a

gendarmerie A gendarmerie () is a paramilitary or 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" (). In France and so ...

barracks at Pietrosella. Corsican nationalist militant Yvan Colonna 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 (law), sentence of imprisonment under which the convicted individual is to remain incarcerated for the rest of their natural life (or until pardoned or commuted to a fixed term). Crimes that result in life impr ...

Legacy

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 or ministry of the interior (also called ministry of home affairs or ministry of internal affairs) is a government department that is responsible for domestic policy, public security and law enforcement. In some states, the ...

at Place Beauvau in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, 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 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 politicians assassinated in the 20th century 20th-century French politicians European politicians assassinated in the 1990s Politicians assassinated in 1998 {{CorseSud-politician-stub