The authorities resorted to tear gas as chaos broke out of the French-controlled island. It followed a largely peaceful protest over an attack on a Corsican nationalist in prison last week.
State buildings in the island’s capital of Bastia were targeted with Molotov cocktails, as demonstrators dubbed the attack on Yvan Colonna a state-sanctioned assassination attempt 11 days ago.
Local media reported police being “overwhelmed” by the volume of demonstrators, with some activists tweeting “This is not Ukraine, this is France. The situation in Bastia is out of control.”