Paris - Hopes were raised yesterday of a suspension of the endemic violence on the island of Corsica, a day after a landmark meeting between the French government and separatist politicians.
One of the two nationalist leaders who took part in Monday's talks said the island's main armed separatist group, the FLNC-Canal Historique, could declare a ceasefire in response to proposals for political dialogue made by the French Prime Minister, Mr Lionel Jospin.
"A historic gesture . . . deriving from the hope this meeting created could well take the form of an indefinite truce," said Mr Paul Quastana, president of Corsica Nazione, a nationalist coalition with ties to the FLNC-Canal Historique.