PARIS (AP) — Former Corsican nationalist leader Alain Orsoni, who also served as the president of soccer club AC Ajaccio, was shot dead in Corsica on Monday during his mother’s funeral, French media reported, quoting judicial sources. He was 71.
Le Monde newspaper said Ajaccio public prosecutor Nicolas Septe opened an investigation into murder by an organized gang.
Alain Orsoni was one of the leaders of the Corsican National Liberation Front (FLNC) in the 1980s. He later founded and led the Movement for Self-Determination (MPA). He left Corsica in 1996 during infighting within the nationalist movement and lived for several years in exile before returning to the island.
“It was a moment of sorrow and grief. Suddenly we heard a gunshot, and Alain collapsed, dead,” Father Roger Polge, who officiated at the funeral service, told France 3 Corse ViaStella channel. “What is happening in our home?”