ABSTRACT
On 15 July 2018, the French national football team became world champions. In Corsica, demonstrations of joy were also held. However, incidents of an anti-French character were identified: insults, tricolour flags being burned, clashes etc. The presence of national symbols became unbearable for a fringe of the islanders who wanted to erase any French presence deemed insulting in the public space. The phenomenon was already manifested in the stands of the Furiani Stadium in the years between 2013 and 2017, where banners had been deployed by supporters, stating in English: “Refugees welcome, France go home”. At its extraordinary session of the 26–27 July 2018, the Assembly of the Community of Corsica, a semi-autonomous instance where Corsican nationalists are largely the majority, had on its agenda the filing of a motion with application for priority review claiming – for Corsica – membership to FIFA. These episodes indicate that football in Corsica has no doubt become a forum for expression of separatist nationalism. However, this is a recent and partial mutation: more than half a century ago, this same football was used to affirm and glorify belonging to France. This chapter analyses the reasons for these changes and their limits, and will prepare a report of the current situation and its challenges.
