The mourners had gathered in the small village of Vero, a half-hour drive from Ajaccio, the capital of the picturesque Mediterranean island of Corsica.
Among them was Alain Orsoni, 71, a former nationalist leader who had flown in from exile in Nicaragua to attend his mother's funeral. Amid the ceremony, a shot rang out from nearby scrubland, instantly killing Orsoni.
This tragic event marks another statistic in Corsica's disturbing trend, with 35 fatal shootings reported in the last three years alone, giving the island one of France's highest murder rates. While Corsicans have grown accustomed to underworld violence, Orsoni's murder has left many in shock.
Following the incident, Orsoni was cremated in Ajaccio amidst heightened police presence.
Friend Jo Peraldi expressed disbelief at the horror of witnessing such violence at a cemetery, emphasizing its sanctity. Orsoni, who was previously imprisoned for organizing bomb attacks as part of the nationalist movement, had played a significant role in Corsican politics and football.
A cousin called Orsoni's murder a “tipping point in the horror,” highlighting the unacceptability of killings in hallowed spaces.
Experts attribute the escalation of violence in Corsica to a shift from political struggles for autonomy to organized crime. Thierry Dominici, a Corsican nationalism expert, noted that former separatist groups, having attained their political objectives, have turned to lucrative criminal enterprises.
This context adds to a backdrop of fear, with police fearing retaliatory violence in response to Orsoni's assassination, a sentiment echoed by criminal justice experts.
As Corncian society braces for potential fallout, Cardinal François Bustillo, a prominent advocate for peace, urges an end to the cycle of bloodshed, emphasizing the need for change in community mentalities.
