How do you analyze the results of this election?
Before talking about Corsica, I would like to mention the national context. This is a real political cataclysm that has come a long way, accelerated by the result of the European elections and the dissolution of the National Assembly. Today, it is reflected in an electoral tidal wave in favor of the extreme right and the National Rally. Corsica has also been swept up in this storm.
Has nationalism also been swept away? Are these results a defeat for Femu a Corsica?
As a nationalist and a democrat, this is a defeat. I respect universal suffrage and all voters but faced with this, we must react and provide a political response next Sunday during the second round. I also believe that we will have to learn important lessons from what happened today in Corsica.
Does learning lessons mean changing the way you govern Corsica?
Three candidates that no one knows and who know nothing about Corsica still managed to achieve huge scores. This means that the electorate and Corsica have changed. It also means that their discourse has found a significant echo among voters, which forces us to question our way of defending our ideas. There is certainly anxiety or anger that was expressed through this vote. We must draw conclusions about our way of explaining our political project, our relationship with the Corsicans and Corsican society.
But it was Corsicans who voted massively for RN…
I think that there is not enough hindsight to analyze in depth the reasons behind this vote. What is certain is that they are voters from Corsica. Among the RN voters, there are both many Corsicans but also many people who have recently arrived. The addition of these categories, which perhaps have different motivations, led us to this result. We must respect it, because it is the expression of universal suffrage, but we must also manage to regain the ear of the majority of people. This is the political work that awaits us.
Are you calling to block the RN?
We need to build a political life that does not allow the extreme right to access responsibilities. I think that this would be a regression in France, in Europe and everywhere in the world. In Corsica, of course, where there is no candidate from the territorial majority, we support those who are running against the RN: Laurent Marcangeli and Paul-André Colombani.
In this context, what is the future of the Beauvau process?
The process in the form we have known is not only suspended, but extremely compromised. And here again, if the RN gains responsibilities, we will no longer talk about process or autonomy, they have said it clearly. The best way to defend the interests of Corsica is to ensure that the four outgoing deputies are re-elected next Sunday.
