Like in a mafia movie Sniper shoots ex-football boss at his mother's funeral
Deadly reckoning like in a mafia movie: In Corsica, an ex-leader of the Nationalists is shot dead during his mother's funeral. The island great escaped an assassination attempt back in 2008.
13.01.2026, 09:15
13.01.2026, 11:12
dpa
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- Former nationalist leader Alain Orsoni was shot dead in Corsica during his mother's funeral.
- The public prosecutor's office is investigating for gang-organized murder.
- Orsoni had a long and controversial past in Corsican politics and had already been the target of violence in the past.
In Corsica, former nationalist leader Alain Orsoni has been shot dead at his mother's funeral. The 71-year-old was killed at a distance in the afternoon with a single shot from a long gun, reported the newspaper "Le Parisien" with reference to the public prosecutor's office.
French media also reported that an investigation had been launched into the gang-organized murder. According to media reports, Orsoni, who was also ex-president of football club AC Ajaccio, had already escaped an assassination attempt in 2008, while his brother Guy was shot dead in 1983.
The exact background to the crime on the French Mediterranean island, which is plagued by gang crime and settlements, was initially unclear.
Strong ties to AC Ajaccio
Following his involvement in the nationalist movement striving for the island's independence, Orsoni lived for a long time in Florida, Spain and Nicaragua, where he was active in the gambling sector, among other things, for his own safety, according to media reports.
From South America, he is also said to have played a major role in the revival of his favorite club AC Ajaccio in the 1990s, which returned from the 7th division to Ligue 1 within ten years. In 2025, the club was downgraded from Ligue 2 to the 3rd division due to financial irregularities.
After his time with the Corsican National Liberation Front (FLNC), Orsoni founded his own movement for self-determination, which his opponents described more as a "movement for business", reported "Le Parisien".
Psychological care had been set up in a hospital in the island's capital Ajaccio for the 50 or so people who attended the funeral in the small village of Vero, reported Le Parisien and the newspaper Corse-Matin.
