Armed group warns tourists to stay away from Corsica and issues threat to anyone thinking of buying a second home on the island

Published: 08:55, 7 August 2026 | Updated: 08:57, 7 August 2026 A masked armed group of Corsican separatists has threatened tourists against moving to the island or buying second homes, which they called 'rampant settlement-driven colonisation'. The Corsican National Liberation Front-Union of Combatants (FLNC-UC) released a video on Thursday, in which around twelve armed, hooded members stand with submachine-guns and rifles.  'Until our national rights are recognised and respected, we have only one message for them: stay at home,' a man believed to be the group's leader says in a muffled voice.  'Otherwise, do not consider yourselves safe on our national territory'.  The warning comes amid the groups' opposition to a proposed autonomy bill for Mediterranean island of Corsica, which they argue is a 'masquerade' and overlooks the existence of the Corsican people.  The bill passed through the lower house of parliament in June and will be examined by the Senate from October.  According to the FLNC-UC, the bill 'leads to the denial of the existence of our people and the repudiation of the main demands of recent decades'. 'The Corsican people will never be a vulgar administrative community,' the leader of the group added. The Corsican National Liberation Front-Union of Combatants (FLNC-UC) released a video on Thursday, in which around a twelve armed, hooded members stand with submachine-guns and rifles The FLNC-UC targeted a house in October 2023, which took place during a series of targeted explosions in Corsica overnight The FLNC-UC (pictured) first appeared publicly in 1976 when they claimed responsibility for 18 attacks carried out during a 'blue night' The threat was made during a clandestine press conference attended only by the local news outlet Corse Matin, who were the only media invited. The FLNC-UC condemned the 'insane' flow of 5,000 foreigners who move to the island for work or to buy a second home, and said 'the vast majority of whom are French'. They deemed this as 'rampant settlement-driven colonisation', comparing it to 'a weapon of mass dilution that colonialism has always used against the peoples it seeks to subjugate, or even wipe out'.   The island grew by 32,900 inhabitants between 2015 and 2025, equivalent to a 1 per cent growth a year, according to the country's national statistics office INSEE.  Homeowners have included Princess Caroline of Monaco and Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich, as well as celebrities including Mick Jagger and Bill Gates.  The FLNC-UC confirmed its goal of 'national independence' in the video, while adding it will continue to support, through 'currently unilateral peace efforts', all routes to a solution that aligns with the wishes of the Corsican people.  The proposals under the bill would recognise Corsica as a distinct historical, linguistic and cultural community.  It would also grant its local assembly greater powers, while keeping Corsica within the French Republic.  The group said it was 'already in a post-Beauveau era', referring to talks launched by the French government following violent protests in Corsica in 2022.   The group first appeared publicly in 1976 when they claimed responsibility for 18 attacks carried out during a 'blue night'. The term 'blue night' is locally used to describe a coordinated series of explosions and bombings carried out over a single night and across various targets.  The movement has fragmented into different groupings since then, caused by internal conflict.   The last 'blue night' the group claimed was in October 2023, when 45 explosions targeted second homes and a former tax office in Ajaccio. No injuries were caused.  Francoise Gatel, the minister of decentralisation, in June called the vote behind the Corsica bill 'an important step for Corsica and for our democracy'.