Historical Dictionary of Terrorism Third Edition

NATIONAL FRONT FOR THE LIBERATION OF CORSICA • 469for the runoff election was 79.7 percent, whereas in the first round theturnout had been lower at 71.6 percent. These increasing votes for LePen over time possibly indicate a growing appeal of Front Nationalpolitics among French voters.Le Pen has made several controversial statements in praise of theGerman occupation of France during World War II and in derogationof the Holocaust, among other things calling the concentration-campgas chambers “a mere detail of history.” For these remarks, Le Penwas eventually prosecuted under the Gayssot Act of 1990, whichoutlaws apologetics on behalf of war crimes, convicted on 11 July2006 and forced to pay €183,200 in fines. Meanwhile, there appearsto be factionalism among his possible successors.NATIONAL FRONT FOR THE LIBERATION OF CORSICA(FLNC). The Fronte di Liberazione Naziunale di a Corsica, a nonstateethnonationalist terrorist group seeking Corsican independence fromFrance, has been active at least since May 1976 when it began a bombingcampaign in mainland France and in Corsica. Most of its mainlandtargets have been French governmental offices, banks, or tourist officesconnected with Air France, while in Corsica properties belongingto non-Corsicans have been targeted as well. The FLNC conducted sixbombings in Paris on 23 April 1980; four bombings in 1981, includingan attack causing heavy damages upon the Palais de Justice in Paris;100 bombings in Corsica on one night alone in August 1982; 20 bombingsin Paris in 1983; and 16 bombings in 1984 hitting targets in Paris,Marseilles, and Toulon. In 1985 alone the FLNC was responsible for96 of the 142 incidents of domestic terrorism in France.In its bomb attacks, the FLNC has been careful to avoid human casualties,its first known casualties occurring in 1980 after four yearsof operations. Following the 1 May 1986 raid by the FLNC on theCargese Holiday Camp on Corsica, two people were killed and threeinjured when the camp owner tried to defuse the bomb the FLNC hadleft behind. In a previous case, on 22 March 1986, masked FLNCgunmen robbing a tourist resort in southern Corsica evacuated the 20tourists from the facility before bombing it so that none of their victimswould be hurt. On 11 December 1989 the FLNC destroyed some40 holiday homes on Corsica under construction for French buyers.Apart from these bombings, the FLNC made one machine-gunattack on French policemen guarding the Iranian embassy on 14