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omitted from the list of acceptable regional languages (Foster 1980, 125). Repeated instances of neglect provided fodder for the growth of Corsican separatist groups. In 1960, Corsican students founded the Union Corse to express their dismay at the neglect of Corsica by the French government. By 1967 a new, more powerful separatist group took over the island: the Action Régionaliste Corse (ARC). Founded by brothers Max and Edmond Simeoni, the ARC advocated for Corsican home rule. Sanchez (2002, 657) cites the founders complaining: “All decisions are taken in Paris, none of our claims are taken into account. We have the most backward status in the Mediterranean.” As time passed the ARC changed their name into Corsican—Azzione per Rinascita Corsa. The change in name signaled a more intense desire for a non-French Corsica. By the 1970s, the movement had extended to include not just students and radicals, but the larger Corsican population. The growth in the number of separatist organizations and the surge in separatist momentum prompted concessions on the part of the central government. The most important of these concessions is the Schéma Général d’Amenagement de la France. Instituted on October 19, 1972, by Valéry Giscard d’Etaing, the Schéma was the Republic of France’s direct response to the Corsican uprising. The goal of the Schéma (1972, 17) was to “reach a level of progress and to attain a controlled development that would not destroy the originality of the island. . . . with the end of safeguarding its identity, its way of life, even its very soul through a management strategy founded on the active cooperation of everyone.” The language alone pacified some separatists, as it acknowledged that there was a Corsican identity that was separate from the French identity. Furthermore, the existence
of the Schéma seemed to show the separatists that the Corsican identity was special and worth preserving. The content of the Schéma d’Amenagement further placated the separatists. The document (1972) acknowledged various challenges the Corsicans faced, specifically economic problems, transportation issues, and immigration crises. The central government pledged to help Corsica develop its own industries and committed to improving Corsican farming. Advancements in transportation to and from the mainland as well as on the island itself became a government priority. The Schéma also divided up Corsica into administrative areas to make local autonomy a more manageable goal. Overall, the government bestowed special notice and consideration to Corsica in the Schéma (1972, 58), pledging to make her “the land of the future.” The promises set forth in the Schéma d’Amenagement initially pacified the Corsican separatist movement. In the elections following the Schéma, the separatist candidate only won 1,160 votes, of the 31, 527 that were cast. Foster (2008) emphasizes that the weak polling turnout constituted less than four percent of the island vote, putting the candidate at the bottom of the list of the six potential office holders. Furthermore, as Patrick Hossay (2004, 410) points out, the movement was very much a movement on the periphery: the interior of the island remained largely divided in terms of separatist support. Therefore, in response to the concessions of the French central government, the Corsican separatist movement began dwindling in influence. As time passed it became clear that French government was not going to follow up with all of the plans put forth in the Schéma d’Amenagement. Corsican separatism once again began to flare its head—this time with increased physical violence.