Simeoni Abandons Corsican Executive for Bastia Mayoral Bid
The whispers have been circulating through nationalist circles since summer's end. Now it's official: Gilles Simeoni is abandoning the presidency of the Corsican executive to pursue the mayoralty of Bastia in the 2026 municipal elections.
In an interview granted Wednesday 17 December to France 3 Corse ViaStella, the autonomist leader has made his choice. After ten years heading the territorial institution, he opts for the local, the concrete, the daily concerns of Bastia's citizens.
A Calculated Return to Roots
"This stems from a carefully considered choice, shared with those alongside whom I have analysed the situation," Simeoni justifies. This time, he promises, he will be a full-time mayor. Gone are the multiple mandates that characterised his first brief stint leading the Corsican city.
For history repeats itself, with one significant difference. On 30 March 2014, heading a motley coalition mixing right and left, Gilles Simeoni had already wrested Bastia (43.34%) from the clan of his eternal rival Jean Zuccarelli (34.89%). But the Bastia adventure was short-lived: a year later, in December 2015, victory in the territorial elections called him to other horizons.
Pierre Savelli: The Loyal Shadow
This announcement signals the eclipse of outgoing mayor Pierre Savelli, that loyal and discreet man who had taken succession. Simeoni rendered him a rather brief "tribute," specifying that this decision had been taken "in agreement with the interested party." A diplomatic formula that poorly masks the realities of nationalist power.
Savelli, a respected figure but without particular charisma, will have served as "transitional mayor" for nearly a decade. His eclipse was programmed from the outset, everyone knowing that Simeoni would one day return to reclaim his stronghold.
A Wager on the Movement's Future
This return to municipal roots reveals a broader strategy. Facing the challenges awaiting Corsica, between demographic pressure and economic mutations, Simeoni bets on local anchoring. Bastia, the island's port of entry and second city, constitutes an ideal laboratory for experimenting with autonomist policies.
The wager is not without risks. Abandoning the executive presidency means leaving the field open to other ambitions within the nationalist movement. But it also means returning to the very essence of political engagement: serving citizens directly, far from institutional grandeur.
For Bastia and its inhabitants, this announced return of Simeoni promises an electrifying municipal campaign. Will the former president manage to convince that after ten years exercising territorial power, he still possesses the energy and vision to transform his native city?