The mayor, Stéphane Sbraggia, filed a complaint after receiving an anonymous letter which "referred to the aquaculture farm" Gloria Maris, added the public prosecutor of Ajaccio, Nicolas Septe, confirming information from Corse-Matin.
Denouncing "an unacceptable act", the mayor confirmed in a press release his filing of a complaint and specified that the author of the threats was "referring to the vote, unanimously, of the municipal council" of Ajaccio, meeting on Friday , "disapproving the conclusion of an emphyteutic lease [a very long-term lease, editor's note] for the benefit of the company Gloria Maris within the perimeter of the Grand site de la Parata", classified Natura 2000 and since 2017 "Grand site de France" .
On December 31, the company, present since 1992, should therefore lose its Ajaccio site.
On October 13, the president of the association of the Network of the great sites of France, Louis Villaret, had indicated, during a press conference in Ajaccio, that a report of the general inspectors of this national label had issued "an opinion unfavourable" on the presence of the aquaculture farm on the Parata site.
In the typewritten threatening letter, containing no signature but several spelling mistakes, which AFP was able to consult, reference is made to "friends" of the author of the missive, "des Ajacciens honest and serious workers" who "have been working for years in this aquaculture company in La Parata".
They "will find themselves on the street without the slightest scruple on your part", continues this letter, directly targeting the mayor.
Accusing the city councilor of wanting to replace this company with "bars and restaurants, or even later a hotel", the letter calls on the mayor to reconsider his decision "before December 31, 2022", otherwise he will be "sentenced to death by a giustizia ajacciana" [Ajaccian justice in the Corsican language, editor's note].
Created in 1992 in Corsica, Gloria Maris today brings together several companies, including Acquadea, which manages the Parata site and produces 800 tonnes of sea bass, Label Rouge sea bream and Label Rouge lean sea bass each year, according to its website.
While regretting the decision "as unfair as unjustified" of the city council on the lease of the company "which condemns its existence", Glorias Maris "condemned (e) firmly", in a press release, the threatening letter that she qualifies as "irrational act" and "overflow" which she "deplores and considers unacceptable".
Pointing to "the public's incomprehension at seeing a company established in La Parata for more than 30 years sacrificed on the pretext that it would hinder the development and extension of tourist activities on the Grand site", the group reaffirms its "position of openness " and his "willingness to dialogue" in order to find "a favorable outcome for the continuation" of the activity and "the safeguard" of the 45 jobs.
Gloria Maris employs a total of 200 people and has a turnover of 43 million euros.
© 2022 AFP