La Corse Votre Hebdo

Corsica is a Mediterranean island situated directly above Sardinia, and just below where the coastline of Italy and France meet. The island has a long and complicated history that has involved most of the countries on the shores of the Mediterranean. The geographical location of the island - between France and Italy, with Sardinia clearly visible from the south of island and the coastline of North Africa discernible on a clear day - forms an incredibly simplistic, but tolerable metaphor for Corsican people, and Corsican culture. Since the eighteenth century, Corsica has been a French region. The French state is highly centralised, highly regulated and aims towards uniform provision of sevices and institutions across the whole country. This approach is based on the three principles of the revolution - egalité, fraternité and solidarité - but historically has resulted in the supression or subduing of diversity across France. Consequently there is a strong desire within Corsica for greater recognition of the Corsican people - their identity, culture and language.

Nationalist struggle has raged for decades, and particularly since the mid-seventies. The nationalist struggle is very complex, as there are nationalists in favour of autonomy and there are nationalists in favour of independence. There are extremists at both ends of the political spectrum - Corsican separatists to French republicans. There are clandestine, or illegal nationalist groups and there are mainstream, legal nationalist political parties. There are nationalists per se as well as those who are nationalistic. Two thirds of people in Corsica distance themselves from the beliefs and aims of nationalists, and yet even the independentist parties often receive about 25-30% of the popular vote because the public wish to provide a larger mandate for autonomy.

In 2000, the French government, under the Socialist leader Lionel Jospin, instituted a process of dialogue and negotiation with Corsican politicians and separatists. These negotiations culminated in The Matignon Accords which, based on the proviso that acts of terrorism ceased, promised more self-determination, new law making powers and equal status for the Corsican language (Arens and Thull, 2000). They also offered Corsica the opportunity to scrap the island's two administrative departments and create an assembly of locally elected politicians. However, in a referendum in 2003, the island's inhabitants rejected the French government's offer of limited autonomy by a 'wafer-thin majoriy' of 50.8 per cent or 2000 votes (CNN, 2003).

Issues of language and identity are constantly foregrounded in Corsican newspapers, magazines, election campaigns and debates, in café conversations and across the Corsican public sphere as a whole. A well-developed linguistic hierarchy existing in Corsica - and actually across the French speaking world as a whole - has meant that "Corsicans did not just learn to speak French in the schools, they learned a language hierarchy in which their own language was dismissed as a worthless patois" (Jaffe, 1999: 17). In short, Corsicans have become schooled in the profound linkage assumed in Western European political thought between language and political identity. This essentially political linkage assumes that having a unique language is proof of a unique culture, that there is a direct equivalence between linguistic and national/political boundaries, and this, in turn, legitimates claims to independence and national sovereignty (Balibar, 1991). Central to this 'imagining of nationhood' was the development of printing, the spread of discursive literacy (Anderson, 1983) and, more recently, "by the knowledge that all over the nation people are performing the same ritual of reading the same newspaper" (Billig, 1995: 125). However, in Corsica - a national space in which Corsican is central to Corsican identity - all mainstream (and under French law, nationally circulated) newspapers are written predominantly in French.

There are 260,000 people living in Corsica. In 1900 there were 300,000. Conscription, wars and the overpopulation of some of Corsica's rich micro-regions were responsible for a sharp drop in the population between the beginning and middle of the twentieth century (Corseweb, 2004). Corsica is, like all western societies, an ageing population, and consequently has one of the lowest birth rates in metropolitan France at 10 births per 1000 habitants (Insee, 2004). One quarter of its population is aged over sixty. Corsica also has the second strongest concentration of immigrants in metropolitan France. There are 26,000 immigrants, that's ten percent of the population, of which over one half are Moroccan, one quarter are Italian or Portuguese and one tenth are Algerian or Tunisian (Insee, 2001). Between 1990 and 1999, just over 7,000 people emigrated to Corsica, a third of which were Moroccan and a fifth Portuguese. With the exception of the Italians, many male immigrants come to Corsica to work in the agricultural and building industries (Insee, 2001). Unemployment rates amongst the male immigrant community stood at twenty-two per cent in 2001, seven per cent higher than the regional average. Men are more likely to be employed than women, and European immigrants more likely to be employed than Arabic ones. These figures are suggestive although not proof of indirect or direct discrimination against immigrants and Arabic immigrants in particular. Racism exists in Corsica, like everywhere else. In the first six months of 2004, around thirty racists attacks were reported to the Corsican authorities. The Moroccan community has taken the brunt of it, with flats, businesses and banks being subject to a number of racially motivated attacks - often involving the use of explosives. In July 2004, an organisation calling itself "Clandestini Corsi" sent a press release to Corsican editors stating " Nous sommes en droite de ne pas accepter ce type de population et les plus réticents seront eliminés physiquement ". The Corsican media have been accused of allowing acts of racial hatred to pass under a veil of silence (Bouzbouz, 2004).

Set against this context, the purpose of this article is to review the reporting in three editions of the weekly Corsican newspaper La Corse Votre Hebdo (No's 163, 165 and 167, a period spanning the 23rd August 2002 to 26th September 2002). This brief, exploratory review is part of a larger project which aims to explore Corsican identity and the positioning of 'Corsican-ness' in a French language local newspaper. Whilst La Corse comes out once a week, it is sold as a supplement of the daily newspaper Corse Matin. Corse Matin is bought by a quarter of the island's population and read by at least a half. Both La Corse and Corse Matin are owned by the Nice Matin Group - based in the French city of Nice. Whilst Corse Matin is the only regional daily newspaper in Corsica, this was not always the case. Previously, La Corse was not the name for the weekly supplement of Corse Matin but the name for its main competitor. La Corse was part of the La Provencal range of titles owned by the socialist mayor of Marsielles. However Nice Matin bought La Corse and subsequently merged it into Corse Matin. La Corse was reincarnated as the supplement. Three themes emerge from this review. First, the way in which La Corse uses populist reporting strategies to maintain its readership and monopoly of the Corsican market. This has consequences for the reporting of nationalists, the struggle for independence, the government standpoint and issues of autonomy. A second connected theme is how La Corse constructs the Corsican identity by referring only to the white European self-titled 'Corsican' tribe which predominates in the island. The third theme pertains to the use of French, Corsican and English in the paper.

Populist Reporting

As indicated in the introduction, Corse Matin is the only regional daily newspaper in Corsica. Its has a monopoly and therefore a large and varied readership. In seeking to defend its readership both Corse Matin and La Corse, must be careful to recognise, but not offend the different constituents that make up its' readership. If it offends too many groups, it may alienate readers, and create a market for a competitor. Moreover, the island hosts a number of violent groups who are more than willing to take reprisals for a 'bad press'. Some of these groups are involved in racist activities, others in the 'war' against the French state and others in mafia-like activity.

Consequently, La Corse must take great care in reporting on issues of nationalism, independence, terrorism and autonomy. It is not easy to maintain the support and readership of the different political groups on the island, for in recognising one group, La Corse could offend another. La Corse handles this problem by omitting critical remarks from its paper. Critique and opposition is sometimes implied in interviews and in reports on the speeches of political dirigeants, but the paper never takes these comments on, explores them or makes them explicit. For example in a report on a group of villagers who were restoring a village which had fallen into disrepair the newspaper notes of one of the protagonists " Iviu Pasquali est connu pour son engagement militant sans concession dès lors qu'il s'agit de défendre le patrimoine culturel légué par les anciens " but the paper does not identify the forces from whom Pasquali is defening his village's cultural legacy. The paper could be referring to the Americans or the French, but most likely the article is referring to the general antipathy of the majority of Corsicans. Had La Corse made any of this explicit, it would have run the risk of offending some section of its readership. Another way La Corse avoids offending is by the careful choice of adjectives. Noticeably, La Corse tends to use the adjective 'insulaire' rather than 'regional' to describe issues pertatining to Corsica (No.163, p.4). Use of the adjective 'insulaire' allows La Corse to recognise the claims of the independence movement, because 'insulaire' helps to give the sense that Corsica's issues are not just regional, but somehow unique and distinctive - as if Corsica was an independent country. However, the fact that 'insulaire' is an accurate geographical description of Corsica means that its use will not offend those who do not support independence.

Populism is more than just about not offending. It involves reaching out, making reference to and sympathising with society's many different groups, so that no matter how much they may be squabbling amongst themselves they continue to support you in your dominant position as reporter. Consequently, on occasion, La Corse, whilst a paper written in French, and owned by French proprietors, sympathises with the independence movement. For example, in one article, about the journey taken by a tourist train called 'Trinnicellu', three references are made to significant landmarks of Corsica's 1769 battle for independence with France (No.163, pp.20-22). " A 700 mètres à droite de la gare se trouve le fameux pont où en 1769 la Corse perdit sone indépendence ". A few paragraphs later further reference is made to the defeat : " A Corte, l'université de Corse s'offre à nos yeux. Crée par Pascal Paoli puis fermée sur ordre de Louis 15 en 1769 après la défaite de Ponte Novu... " And again " A droite de la gare de Vivariu se dresse, sur un éperon rocheux, le fort en ruine de Pasciolu construit par les Français en 1770 où furent emprisionnés les patriotes corses ". The foregrounding of these landmarks and their 'historical' importance implicitly legitimises the independence movement's claims.

Whenever the nationalist voice is relayed in the paper, the newspaper is keen to be seen to be sitting firmly on the fence. In an article about the re-emergence of a traditional Corsican musical art-form, and the role played by the group 'Canta u Populu Corsu', Alain Bitton Andreotti writes " En 1973, l'embryon de ce qui devait devenir Canta u Populu Corsu lance sa croisade. Son but est double : restituer aux Corses leur culture déchue et pa là même leur identité nationale. A tort ou a raison, Canta se base sur l'état des lieux suivant : la Corse est une nation vaincue par les armes deux siècles plus tôt et le vainquer, la France, n'a jamais eu d'autre but que de l'affaiblir et la désertifier, d'anéantir son sentiment national et toutes les composantes de son identité, afin de la franciser." " Rightly or wrongly " the fence-sitting newspaper avoids offending the nationalists as well as republicans. The fact that the newspaper, like the article itself, is written in French, is also of some satisfaction and comfort to the republicans.

Elsewhere the paper is keen to show its allegiance to the French state, and therefore to the majority of Corsicans. La Corse accepts Corsica as a French region. For example in an interview with Luc Ferry, the national education minister, the newspaper asks " Les derniers résultats du bac ont placé la Corse en bas de tableau. Comment expliquez-vous cette situation ? " (No. 165, p.5). This question assumes that Corsica is a French region, else otherwise, what table is it that Corsica sits at the bottom of ? The fact that it is a French table, comprising the various French regions, of which Corsica is one - does not have to be spelt out. The interviewer implies this is the case and assumes that the reader, like the interviewer, will understand, accept and support this implication. In an editorial entitled 'Le moment ou jamais' Jean-René Laplayne calls on the paper's readers to engage with the government on the Matignon accords. " C'est peut-être l'occasion ou jamais de prendre le gouvernement au mot ". He reminds the readers about how Nicolas Sarkozy, Interior Minister, has told the Corsican Assembly that the ball is in their court, that it's up to them to establish their choices and priorities. Laplayne continues 'Ce n'est certes pas la première fois que ce langue est tenu mais le contexte est tel que le moment est venu de sasir cette opportunité' (No.163, p.2). In this editorial, there is clearly a line, and that is the one established by the government, which sees Corsica as suffering from a lack of autonomy. That is to say the article legitimises Corsica as a French region. This would be a sock to the independentists and the terrorists if the paper had chosen to spell it out. The editorial acts, in some respects, as a counterbalance to a full page article found later on in the paper. This latter article reports on the merger of two nationalist parties " l'UPC-Scelta Nova " and " Mossa naziunale " into a new party called " U Partitu Di A Nazione Corsa " (No. 165, p.6). What is interesting about this article is that it is written from within the nationalist box, i.e. it is written almost as an insider. There is no critique offered of the merger, and whilst the article emits a sense of opportunity and potential, there is no analysis of the possible drawbacks. Concomitantly there is little criticism of the government or of the French state - which you wouldn't expect from a nationalist, but this is a nationalist writing in La Corse. We only hear mild scepticism, that the nationalists intend to judge the government's words and actions on the Matignon process " sur pieces ". The article is very La Corse, at the same moment sympathetic to both the government and the nationalists, and devoid of criticism of either.

The populist reporting of La Corse can be seen in its reviews of consumer goods like books and tourist guides. The paper makes no attempt to critique and identify the weaknesses of the products. For example there are several book reviews which fail to critique the book or compare it with other products. Each book is described and praised. A review of a holiday guide to Corsica (No.163, p.32) simply lists the contents before concluding " ce guide.... ne devrait plus quitter votre poche ". Articles become advertorials. Vannina Casalonga fills one third of a page with a description and eulogy of the new leisure pursuit " kite-surf ". In the bottom left hand corner there is an advert for two organisations providing kite-surf training and preparation. Another manifestation of La Corse's populist approach to news reporting, is its section Detti è Fatti which translates roughly into 'Sayings and Facts'. Detti è Fatti serves more or less as a noticeboard for various societies and local Councils. Articles are no longer than 150 words and often much smaller. It is not clear whether the articles are being written by the authorities themselves or by a journalist. In either case, Detti è Fatti represents the ultimate in populist news reporting, the view of the newspaper and the views of Corsica's most powerful and influential authorities are united. Take for example this article: " La municipalité de Corte qui veut en finir avec la malpropreté qui entache la cité par endroit, lance des opérations. La campagne de dératisation a commencé et des appels à la prudence mettent en garde la population pour qu'elle respecte les recommandations faites " (No. 165, p.19). Who's talking here, the paper or the Council ?

Corsica's (White European Tribe's) Paper

According to Corseweb, Corsica's gross domestic product is the lowest in metropolitan France. This is put down to the fact that one in two residents on the island is economically inactive and Corsica generally has low productivity. Corsica is poor in natural resources, has high transport costs and has been unable to develop its industrial capacity (Préfecture de la Corse, 2004). The Corsican economy is heavily dependent on agricultural exports and tourism, the island's population doubles in the month of August (Corseweb, 2004). For the average Corsican, the future lies beyond the island's boundaries in the markets of mainland France, Europe and the rest of the world. Working abroad is valorised. In contrast to the rest of the world, Corsica can come off as looking a little backwards, as weak. Jacques Renucci, for example, seems to express embarassment at the idea that Corsica is seen to depend so much on tourism. He writes " Le tourisme est-il une composonte essentielle de l'économie insulaire ? Oui, sûrement. Est-il la seule possibilité de prospérité pour une région dont l'éventail des choix de développement est restreint ? Non, sûrement pas. Entre ces deux pôles de réalité, il y a la place pour une réflexion constructive. " (No.167, p.7).

La Corse devotes one page of each edition to an interview with a Corsican pursuing a career in mainland France or Europe. To counter the inferiority complex hinted at by Renucci, Corsica is celeberated as a motherland. For example in an interview with Jean-Marc Vignali, a young Corsican working for Toyota in Koln, the newspaper reports " C'est d'ailleurs en corse que ce jeune homme de 26 ans s'addresse à nous. C'est cette langue qu'il s'appelle 'maternelle'. " La Corse suggests Corsica has a gravity, a pull, that all Corsicans feel when they leave the motherland. " C'est vrai que j'ai eu des moments difficiles mais ma famille et mes amis m'ont toujours soutenu " says Jean-Marc. And furthermore " Incontestablement, J-M n'as pas le temps de s'ennuyer. Toutefois, dans ses rares moments de pause, ses pensées vont surtout à la Corse, cette île a toujours vecu et où sont sa famille et ses amis. " Corsica is the resting place to which all expatriates and explorers will inevitably return, having had their full of the transient treasures in lands of lesser integrity. For example in an interview with retired sailor Maurice Mattei, the newspaper comments,

" S'il évoque avec mélancolie cette époque maritime, il n'en a pas moins decidée, après 30 ans de carrière et une fois ses rêves d'aventure assouvis, de mettre le cap sur son part d'attache, son village de Barrettali, le point d'ancrage de ses racines capcorsines. " (No. 167, pp.10-11).

Corsica is defined as a place which is better for one's health and well-being. One of the headlines in an interview with rugby player Stephan Delfini, reads " Il vit en Corse et joue en Châtillon " (no. 163, p.36). The first paragraph starts " Tranquillement installé dans son village de Vico, Stephan Delfini a privilégié le bien-être de ses deux enfants, Marie, trois ans et Jean-Baptiste, quatorze mois. " In a similar vein, an interview with a young Corsican vedette, Donia Esther who shot to fame with a winning appearance on " Pop Stars ", reported the star as saying " Je me battrai pour perdurer, mais si un jour tout s'arrête, je ne serai pas esclave de ce milieu. Mon équilibre c'est en Corse que je le trouve avec ma famille, mes amis. " (no.165, pp.10-11). The outside world is a heady and intoxicating place of temptation, riches and instability. On the other hand the more dependable and sold virtues of stability and balance can be found in Corsica.

The notion of home, of returning to one's homeland is not of course unique to Corsica. But why does La Corse seek out those people who have left Corsica ? Why does it constantly seek out and emphasise this discourse of 'Mother Corsica' pulling her sons and daughters back to her bosom? It's a tribal agenda. With the vertical integration of Corsican labour into the European and global market, and the significant Arabic population resident on the island, the dominant white European tribe of Corsica feels a need to maintain the integrity of the island's imaginary universal culture. To do this it needs support, it needs numbers, it needs to keep a reign on its diaspora - and it does so by using the metaphor of the overstretched brace - La Corse attaches the brace to each one of its emigrants ready to spring them back to the bosom. The overstretched braces are like an extension of the imaginary boundaries of Corsica, which become mapped on to different spots around the world. Corsica beomes globalised. However, in extending the imaginary geographical boundaries of Corsica outwards, La Corse helps to maintain the cultural dominance of the dominant tribe inwards. Interestingly, one of the newspapers' advertistements included in the " Les Corses d'ailleurs " section is for a local radio programme called " Décalage horaire " (time difference) which describes itself as a programme dedicated to the disapora. Through its broadcasts " un véritable lien est ainsi crée entre ceux de l'intérieur et ceux de l'exterieur " (No. 165, p.37). In defining the exterior as a diaspora, that is as a departing white European population, La Corse implicitly defines the interior as the remaining white population. There is no sense in which the exterior might be family who have been left behind, as might be the case with residents of Arabic descent, and thus no sense in which the interior is constituted, in part, by the Arabic population.

Another strategy used to support the dominance of the majority tribe is the construction of the 'the Corsican universal'. In interview, a film producer, Pierre Salvadori, is quoted as saying " J'ai été élevé avec les valeurs que m'ont enseignées mon père at mon grand-père ; celles de l'hospitalier, du respect des autres et de la dignité. En Corse, il y a un art de vivre, un art de mener, une existence juste et droite. " Of course this quote on its own, does not represent an attempt at cultural domination, it is in part, an identification of the speaker's communal values. However, a patchwork of exclusive and unique notions of Corsicanness, helps to paint a picture of a universal homogenous culture. A third strategy is that of 'absenting others'. Despite the fact that the Maghreb Arab population make up 5-6% of the island's population, they are absent from the newspaper's reporting. The Maghrebin are simply out of the loop - they are not perceived as being part of the national identity, nor is there a financial reason to report to or for them because of their disavantaged financial status.

Language

La Corse has a monopoly on the market. For this reason it tries to maintain its appeal to as wide a section of Corsica's population as possible. The language that one communicates in, is of course, a part of how a newspaper appeals to a population. La Corse knows that French is the common denominator in Corsica, so the vast majority of the newspaper is written in French. However, it is also aware of the minority of people who would wish that Corsican was the official language, and the more significant minority who want a revalorisation of Corsican. Consequently the newspaper provides a weekly column, written in Corsican, by Gjhiseppu Sicurani. This tokenistic gesture enables the newspaper to meet certain of the population's need for cultural recognition. The journalists don't always get it right. Ange-François Buresi sent in a letter explaining how a journalist had, in an article describing the journey taken by the tourist train mentioned earlier, misinterpreted its name, " Trinnicellu " as " le petit train " when, in fact, it means " le petit trembloteur " or " le totillard ". Buresi used her extensive knowledge of dimininutives to explain why and where the 'have a go' journalist had got it wrong. La Corse is a newspaper, which like the forty-something generation writing for it, is learning the language. In the 1950s and 1960s school children were scalded for speaking Corsican to their friends and were not taught how to write it. Even for those journalists who do know how to write in Corsican, there is the added complication of catering for the different dialects used in different parts of the island.

Corsican often appears in names of cities and towns, sir names, names of associations, names of beers and names of recipes. Corsican also appears as phrases or as analytical terms, rather like Latin or French might be used in English. In this way Corsican appears to indicate a higher level of education, cultural integrity and knowledge. To be able to insert the Corsican language into one's text, is to speak from a more authoritative position on Corsican culture and matters. Nevertheless, Corsican terms are often placed in single quotation marks to indicate the unofficialness of Corsican - French is the official language here. Corsican terms are isolated and contextualised in French - just like Corsica as a region is contextualised in the French state. For the nationalists, this is probably better than a merger of the two languages. Better to be recognised as a drowning man in the ocean, than not to be recognised at all. The bracketing off of Corsican helps to avoid a creolisation of the two languages, and the eventual destruction of Corsican. The populist approach taken by La Corse to languages, does not mean it will publish in any language, it has to be sensitive to the agenda of the majority tribe, one which the newspaper shares. The paper does not write any of its articles in Arabic, Portuguese or Italian. To be Corsican, to have a right to be recognised on the island, is to be white and European and to be speaking French or Corsican. In one article (No. 167, p.30) Corsican is referred to as " notre langue ".

There is another language which also appears on a regular basis. It is the language of the global business community, those who want to sell things to Corsicans. Like Corsican, English is used in the names of products, especially hi-tech products like the " Tablet PC " "Internet " " emailing " (No.167, p.23). It is also the language of the most powerful political economic force on earth. Hence cultural references to " Ground Zero " and " les Twin Towers " (No.167, p.23), and to leisure pursuits such as " kite-surf ". The article on kite-surfing describes two kite-surf manouevres, " free-ride " and " hang-time ". The writer tells the reader " A vous de choisir celle vous qui apporte le plus de 'fun' " (No.163, p.34).

More Questions Than Answers

What would be interesting to know is what the editors omit from the newspaper. When the journalists have their morning meeting with the editor, which ideas are scratched. Which articles, and which comments are omitted and why? Which 'letters to the editor' are binned or considered not worthy of publication and why? For whom is La Corse Ne Pas Votre Hebdo? What is the relationship between the editors and the local business community? A small article in the " Les plaisirs de la table " section explains that the section is compiled by a committee of professionals, journalists and chefs. What other networks exist, who is involved and why, and how does this influence what gets to be news and what gets to be ignored? Another intersting question is, do the Arabic population buy La Corse and in so doing do they buy into the ideology of the white European self-titled 'Corsican' tribe? How does it affect them?

References

Anderson, B. (1983) Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origins and Spread of Nationalism. London: Verso.

Arens, M. and Thull, F. (2000) Partial autonomy for Corsica splits French government, World Socialist Website, http://www.wsws.org/articles/2000/sep2000/cors-s05.shtml, viewed 28th August 2004.

Balibar, E. (1991) The nation form: history and ideology, in I. Wallerstein & E. Balibar (eds.) Race, Nation, Class: Ambiguous Identities. New York: Routledge, pp.86-106.

Billig, M. (1995) Banal Nationalism. London: Sage.

Bouzbouz (2004) Oust les Marocains! , La Gazette du Maroc, 382, 23rd August 2004. http://www.lagazettedumaroc.com/articles.php?id_artl=4672&r=2&sr=885, viewed 26th August 2004.

CNN (2003) Corsica rejects autonomy offer by Paris, http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/europe/07/06/corsica.poll/ viewed 26th August 2004.

Corseweb (2004) L'Economie d'une Ile, http://www.corsica.net/corsica/fr/discov/eco/index.htm, viewed 27th August 2004.

Insee (2001) Une Immigration Surtout Marocaine et Portugaise, http://www.insee.fr/fr/insee_regions/corse/rfc/docs/ecoc955.htm,

Insee (2004) La population insulaire a moins souffert de la canicule, http://www.insee.fr/fr/insee_regions/corse/rfc/docs/ecoc1079.htm, viewed 27th August 2004.

Jaffe, A. (1999) Ideologies in Action: Language Politics on Corsica. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.

Préfecture de la Corse (2004) Economie Corse, http://www.corse.pref.gouv.fr/scripts/display.asp?P=Coeco, viewed 27th August 2004.

Mike Williams - April 2005