The Mediterranean island of Corsica has been shaken by a brazen assassination that violated longstanding cultural taboos, as former nationalist leader Alain Orsoni was fatally shot during his mother’s funeral service in the village of Vero. The 71-year-old, who had returned from exile in Nicaragua to bury his mother, was killed by a single shot fired from nearby scrubland during the ceremony.
This killing represents a disturbing escalation in Corsica’s cycle of violence, where thirty-five people have been fatally shot in the past three years alone on the island of 350,000 inhabitants. The location and timing of the attack has stunned even those accustomed to the island’s vendetta culture, with close friend Jo Peraldi noting that ‘a cemetery is sacred in Corsica, just like a church.’
Orsoni’s life story mirrors Corsica’s turbulent modern history. Having spent 15 years in prison for organizing bomb attacks against French state symbols during his nationalist activism, he later transitioned into football management, presiding over AC Ajaccio’s promotion to France’s top-flight Ligue 1. Despite his public role in sports, Orsoni maintained extensive security measures, including bullet-proof vests and armored vehicles, acknowledging constant threats to his life.
Criminologist Alain Bauer described the killing as inevitable but noted the shocking circumstances: ‘An assassination in a graveyard in Corsica is surprising and it’s pretty certain there will be revenge killings.’ The investigation is now being handled by Paris judges specializing in organized crime alongside regional prosecutors in Marseille.
The attack has prompted Cardinal François Bustillo, Bishop of Ajaccio, to call for an end to the bloodletting, warning against Corsica drifting ‘towards its demons.’ However, with the island’s clans having shifted from political violence to organized crime including money laundering, extortion, and drug trafficking, the prospects for peace remain uncertain as another vendetta cycle appears to have begun.