Since the French revolution France has been fiercely a centralised state on constant guard against an Anglo-Saxon cultural conspiracy. A recent decision to grant limited autonomy to Corsica is setting a new precedent. Since the French revolution France has been fiercely a centralised state on constant guard against an Anglo-Saxon cultural conspiracy. A recent decision to grant limited autonomy to Corsica is setting a new precedent. The government decision follows a twenty year long terrorist campaign on the island. Since 1976 at least 8 policemen have been shot dead by nationalists and central government has responded with sometimes ruthless and indiscriminate means. In what became known as "Rainbow Warrior 2" French special agents burnt down a Corsican restaurant acting merely on the suspicion that its owner was collaborating with Corsican nationalists. After years of bloodshed and conflict, the French government surprised many by accepting a gradual transfer of power and the prospect of a constitutional amendment giving Corsicans the right to adopt their own laws. Now regions all over France with separate cultural roots are stepping up their efforts for autonomy. The Celts in Brittany, the Basques in South West France and the Alsacians on the German border are all pointing to Corsica. "Given the process of European unification and the process of globalisation, France will have to adjust itself to a new relationship with its regions", says Dominic Moisi, an expert on international affairs.

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