If there were no mafia in Corsica, it would be one of the greatest places to live in Europe. If there were no mafia in Corsica, perhaps the life there would be so different that our first statement would be completely false. The people in this most unusual of all French regions in Europe have voted recently against more autonomy from Paris. The reasons? Some fear this autonomy could bring chaos, other that such step isn't enough for the full independence. The result is maintaining the status quo, i.e. continuing pouring money into the island known for its pristine beaches and good wine, for its wilderness, for its killers and kidnappers and above all, for its strange jargon, mixture of Italian and French.

The modern history of Corsica became in 1769 when the French Royal Army invaded the island, putting an end to the short-lived Corsican republic. I guess that if this hasn't happened, perhaps today Corsica would have been developing into more civilized and more prosperous society. Who knows? In the history books there isn't "what if", there are just facts and speculations. The invasion of Corsica by the French Armies is important because Napoleon Bonaparte was born on that island soon after, so he was born a French subject even if his parents didn't speak French. For Paris this fact is a source of national pride as well as a source of many problems, past and present.

The French national mentality can't call the Corsicans "gangs" because the most important figure in the French history was born in Corsica. So keeping Corsica inside the French republic became a goal to be paid at any price. On the other hand, French public opinion, at least part of it, still feels frustration when someone pronounces the words "Corsican people" because the Republic is unique and indivisible. Third, some Corsicans don't want to be a French region and are ready to use all means to reach their goal of full independence. They may look like freedom fighters, some are in fact, but many are just illegal drug dealers, money launderers, and common criminals, whishing the chaos to collect their fruits.

Corsica for France has the same financial burden as Chechnya for Russia. The money Moscow is pouring for its counter-terrorist operations in Caucasus, Paris allocates for keeping large parts of the population on its payrolls. In fact 40% of all adults in Corsica are employed by the French government; level unmatched by any other French territory inside Europe. These huge for the island standards subsidies keep artificially high the living standard, preventing the mass migration from the island and also maintaining artificially high the real estate prices. In general they match the prices in other rural areas of Southern France, with an average old detached house between $50,000 and $100,000.

These large subsidies, coupled with the higher criminal activity prevent the island from becoming the foreign investors' paradise. Without subsidies, the prices will fall to a fraction of what they are now. The most active groups of the population will find their way out where the real jobs are. The criminal activity will diminish by the lack of resources to robber. We already discussed such scenario when we talked about Armenia.

Thus for the other French nationals as well as for the foreigners Corsica become a paradise only during the summer season when the population triples attracted by the clean beaches. Except the tourism, other industries in Corsica are almost unknown. With no capitalist traditions on the island, a company with 10 employees is considered big. The mafia is partly responsible for this situation, not allowing creation of big income differences. Any foreign investor attracted by the idea of this low taxes territory, these low taxes are just another form of subsidies, should think twice even three times before going there.

Corsica profile:

• Population: 260,000
• Regional capital: Ajaccio
• Major languages: French (official), Italian and Corsican
• Major religion: Christianity
• Monetary unit: Euro
• Main exports: Cheese, fruit, wine, olive oil, tobacco

(Source: BBC News Corporation)

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