French court ruling limits Corsican language rights in local government Paris challenges international law?

A French court has ruled against the use of the Corsican language in the island’s local assembly, delivering a significant blow to the Corsican independence movement’s efforts to expand the language's status. 

According to court documents obtained by AFP on November 26, the Marseille administrative court of appeal upheld the constitutional principle that only French may be used in official assemblies, per Caliber.Az.

The court emphasized that "the language of the Republic is French," as stated in France’s 1958 constitution, and that this requirement applies to all individuals in public service roles.

France has long sought to limit the use of regional languages, a policy rooted in the aftermath of the French Revolution when such languages were seen as potential threats to national unity. 

While Corsican, along with other regional languages like Alsatian, Basque, and Breton, continues to be spoken by certain communities, efforts to elevate these languages to an official status or expand their use in public life have frequently faced resistance. President Emmanuel Macron recently reiterated this position, saying that "regional languages have been an instrument for dividing the nation" and contrasting this with the unifying role of the French language.

The ruling stems from a legal dispute that began when Corsica’s administrative court annulled all deliberations in the local assembly that were conducted in Corsican. It also invalidated a decision by Corsica’s Executive Council (CDC) to allow the language to be used in debates. In response, the CDC appealed the decision to the Marseille court, but the ruling was upheld. Now, the CDC plans to take the matter to the State Council, France’s highest administrative court. 

Corsican Executive Council president Gilles Simeoni and assembly head Marie-Antoinette Maupertuis have condemned the decision, calling it "contrary to European and international law, which protects basic linguistic rights." They vowed to seek support from the European Union and called for a revision of the French constitution to grant Corsican official status.

Corsica, known for its scenic beauty and distinct cultural identity, has a history of tension with the central government.

The island, with a population of around 350,000, enjoys a certain degree of autonomy, especially in cultural and educational matters, but relations between the island's autonomy movement and Paris have often been strained. This tension reached a violent peak in 1998 when Corsican nationalist extremists assassinated Claude Erignac, the central government’s highest representative on the island. The man convicted for the assassination, Yvan Colonna, was later attacked in prison in 2022 and died from his injuries. Despite this history, Corsica remains a popular tourist destination, attracting about three million visitors each year to its picturesque beaches and rugged landscapes.

The CDC’s decision to take the case to the State Council reflects its ongoing battle for linguistic recognition, a struggle that it frames as part of a broader movement for cultural preservation and linguistic rights. Simeoni and Maupertuis argue that the court’s decision contradicts European standards on protecting minority languages, but it also highlights the ongoing tension between regional identity and national unity in a highly centralized state like France.

By Tamilla Hasanova