The Corsican Assembly is expected to vote on a proposal that would give co-official status to the Corsican language, although a reform of the French Constitution will be needed in order to be effective. Corsican Assembly Members (AM) will vote on the issue next Thursday 25th, during the next sitting of the Assembly.

The submitted text has been prepared by Pierre Ghionga, president of the Council of the Corsican Language. The project foresees that "French and Corsican are the official languages of Corsica" and that both languages can be used by any citizen in dealings with public administration. The text wants Corsican to be used as a vehicular language in schools and sets a clear goal: at the end of scolarization, all pupils should have a good command of both Corsican and French.

The Corsican proposal is a premier in France, where French is the sole official language as set in its Constitution. That is why proponents of co-official status underline that it will only be implemented if France accepts to amend the Constitution. In an interview to Corse Net Infos, Ghionga says that this is the reason why it is so important that Corsican AMs give a "massive vote" for co-officiality: "We must have a democratic position. [...] I cannot see how the French Republic could oppose a region's democratic will", he argues.

Out 51 AMs in the Corsican Assembly, it is predictable that all 15 belonging to Corsican nationalist parties will support the move. Out of the other 36, Ghionga expects that a good deal of them also vote in favour. "I expect a strong majority" for co-officiality, Ghionga has said. He argues that two years ago, 36 AM voted a motion that supported an eventual co-official status for Corsican.

The move is opposed by some AMs, left and right of the political spectrum, and also by some centralist associations. One of the most vocal, Corse-Matin reports, is France-Corse. According to them, Corsican should only be learnt and spoken "on a voluntary basis" and "within family".

In 2009, pro-independence AMs introduced a motion to declare official status for Corsican. The proposal was defeated with 19 votes in favour and 28 against.

Further information:

• Corse Net Infos: Langue corse : 90 % des Corses sont pour le bilinguisme