Corsicans Narrowly Reject Autonomy
Corsicans narrowly rejected a referendum to grant the island more autonomy from France -- a change the national government had hoped would quell decades of separatist violence.
Successive governments have struggled to end a campaign by Corsican separatists for more autonomy from the mainland. The violence started in the 1970s and has mainly taken the form of bombings in empty buildings.
The hilly Mediterranean island -- Napoleon’s birthplace -- has been part of France since 1768. The referendum would have created an executive body to run Corsican affairs and levy taxes.
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