A spontaneous social movement in Corsica, at the initiative of the Corsican workers’ union (STC), is currently blocking the four airports and six ports of the Mediterranean island.
The four airports and six ports of Corsica were blocked Thursday afternoon by a social movement launched by the Corsican workers’ union (STC), an STC union delegate told AFP, information confirmed to AFP by several sources, particularly security.
This movement followed the cry of anger on Thursday from the autonomist president of the Executive Council of Corsica, faced with the reluctance expressed by a representative of the prefect of Corsica on a device allowing the Chamber of Commerce to continue to manage the island’s airports and ports. . “It’s a declaration of war” by the State, considered Gilles Simeoni.
“All ports and airports in Corsica have been blocked for several hours by the STC,” Laurent Filippi, STC union delegate at the port of Bastia, told AFP. “There is no longer anything taking off, nothing landing and nothing leaving or returning from the ports,” added the union delegate. A security source and airport sources confirmed these blockages to AFP.
“Due to a social movement by the CCI of Corsica today, all flights departing from Bastia-Poretta airport are canceled,” also indicates a voice message broadcast Thursday afternoon in Bastia airport and transmitted to AFP.
“Unacceptable announcement”
According to the STC, these blockages come after the “unacceptable announcement” of Alexandre Patrou, Secretary General for Corsican Affairs (Sgac), who expressed doubts on Thursday about the creation of two open mixed unions (SMO) port and airport of here the end of the year. These unions had to grant concessions to the island CCI so that it could continue to manage the island’s ports and airports from January 1, 2025.
Declaring that this arrangement presented “a significant legal risk”, Alexandre Patrou indicated at the podium of the extraordinary general assembly of the CCI that this system of mixed unions could “not circumvent the call for tenders” planned for any market audience.
Very angry, Gilles Simeoni denounced this “decision that the State has just announced today, on the sly, without warning us and by denying its commitment and its word”. “If the State respects its commitments”, these mixed unions “will entrust the operation of ports and airports to the CCI by way of concession and this solution guarantees efficiency and employment”, he detailed. “If the State goes back on its word, we will not accept it,” he insisted.
In April, the prefect of Corsica recalled the “serious failures” repeated since the end of 2022 at Ajaccio airport in terms of passenger and baggage screening. To “urgently remedy” this, the CCI was placed under reinforced surveillance by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation from April 9.
