Simeoni's Strategic Retreat: From Corsican Executive to Bastia Mayor Race
The whispers had been circulating through nationalist circles since late summer. 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, December 17th to France 3 Corse ViaStella, the autonomist leader has made his choice. After ten years heading the territorial institution, they are choosing the local, the concrete, the daily reality of Bastia's residents.
A Calculated Return to Grassroots
"This proceeds from a carefully considered choice, shared by those with whom I've analyzed the situation," Simeoni justifies. This time, they promise to be a full-time mayor. Gone is the mandate accumulation that characterized their first brief passage at the head of the Mediterranean city.
Because history repeats itself, with a significant difference. On March 30, 2014, leading a heterogeneous coalition mixing right and left, Gilles Simeoni had already wrested Bastia (43.34%) from the clan of their eternal rival Jean Zuccarelli (34.89%). But the Bastia adventure was cut short: a year later, in December 2015, victory in the territorial elections called them toward other horizons.
Pierre Savelli: The Loyal, Effaced Figure
This announcement signals the erasure of outgoing mayor Pierre Savelli, a loyal and discreet figure who had taken succession. Simeoni paid them a rather succinct "tribute," specifying that this decision had been made "in agreement with the interested party." A diplomatic formula that poorly masks the realities of nationalist power structures.
Savelli, a respected figure but without particular charisma, served as a "transitional mayor" for nearly a decade. Their effacement was programmed from the origin, everyone knowing that Simeoni would one day return to reclaim their stronghold.
A Wager on the Movement's Future
This return to municipal grassroots reveals a broader strategy. Facing the challenges awaiting Corsica, between demographic pressure and economic mutations, Simeoni is betting on local anchoring. Bastia, the island's entry port and second Corsican city, constitutes an ideal laboratory for experimenting with autonomist policies.
The wager isn't without risks. Abandoning the executive presidency means leaving the field open to other ambitions within the nationalist movement. But it's also returning to the very essence of political engagement: serving citizens directly, far from institutional gilding.
For Bastia and its inhabitants, this announced return of Simeoni promises an electrifying municipal campaign. Will the former president succeed in convincing that after ten years exercising territorial power, they still have the energy and vision to transform their native city?
This strategic retreat from institutional heights to municipal trenches reflects broader questions about power, representation, and the most effective spaces for enacting transformative politics. As marginalized communities across Europe grapple with similar tensions between institutional participation and grassroots organizing, Simeoni's choice offers one model for navigating these contradictions.