France's National Assembly today approved a controversial bill to grant more powers to the restive Mediterranean island of Corsica which could herald important changes in France's centralised system of government.
The reform was initially billed as a solution for Corsica, where separatists have staged violent protests against Paris for over 20 years. The bill concerns only the island's affairs.
But it has generated a momentum which looks set to push France, with its Napoleonic heritage of centralism, at least some way down the road of regional devolution that Spain and more recently Britain have taken.
Legislators ignored warnings the bill would lead to Corsican independence and voted 287 to 217 for the measure.
The French Republic has nothing to fear about recognising and taking into account the specific nature of Corsica, Interior Minister Mr Daniel Vaillant told the legislators.
The bill aims to end separatist violence on the island by giving its regional assembly special powers such as the right to adapt certain laws approved by the national parliament in Paris. It also allows island schools to teach the Corsican language.