From Alsace to Corsica: is France rethinking territorial diversity?
**In France, two institutional debates have recently brought territorial differentiation and regional identity-based claims back to the fore. On 8 April, the National Assembly adopted a bill seeking to detach Alsace from the Grand Est region. The text, now before the Senate, would create a collectivity with special status. Some weeks later, on 23 June, the National Assembly also adopted at first reading the constitutional bill for an autonomous Corsica within the Republic. Given France's notoriously hostile approach towards the idea of autonomy and regional languages, these developments deserve close attention. What do they reveal about the French understanding of state unity? And: Is France undergoing a paradigm shift? To understand what is at stake, Géraldine Chavrier - a professor of public law at Sorbonne Law School (Paris 1), who specialises in local government law and contributed to the bills concerning Alsace and Corsica - offers her insight. You can watch the full video interview** [**here**](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3HpfvrZePY)**.**
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