New bomb attacks on Corsica despite crackdown vow .  Sylvie Florence  AJACCIO , Corsica 1996-08-29  Separatist guerrillas planted two bombs overnight at government offices on the French Mediterranean island of Corsica despite fresh warnings of a crackdown by [START_ENT] Paris [END_ENT] , police said on Thursday .  In the latest in a wave of attacks , a two kg ( four lb ) bomb seriously damaged two floors of Agriculture Ministry offices located just 50 metres ( yards ) from a police station in the centre of the island capital Ajaccio .  No one was hurt .  A second device , packed with five kg ( 10 lbs ) of explosive , was defused before it could go off , police said .  The new attacks followed by a day a warning of a new " get-tough " policy by Paris toward the separatists , who seek greater autonomy .  Interior Minister Jean-Louis Debre , under fire for staging secret talks with one of the largest of several rival underground nationalist groups , told the daily La Corse in a statement he had given " firm orders " to police to round up those responsible for the bombings and bring them to justice .  Judges on the island had accused Paris of taking a lax stance on guerrilla violence while conducting secret but widely-reported talks with separatists which have now failed .  The latest bombing , close on the heels of the new orders , brought charges that police were powerless .  " No searches , no arrests , no police reinforcements visible on the island , despite the ministry 's promises , " the daily France-Soir lamented .  " On the island , as at the Place Beauvau ( the Interior Ministry 's Paris address ) , people are well aware who is who and who is doing what .  It is time to end this nightly farce , " said the pro-government daily Le Figaro in an editorial .  No one immediately claimed responsibility for Thursday 's incidents , which brought to 23 the number of guerrilla attacks on the resort island since mid-August , when separatist guerrillas ended a shaky seven-month truce .  Corsica has been racked by low-level separatist-inspired violence , principally directed against government targets , for two decades .  The daily Le Monde reported on Wednesday some separatist movements were considering taking their attacks to the French mainland on the principle that " 300 grammes of explosives on the continent have more impact than 300 kilos in Corsica " .  The newspaper said separatists may take advantage of social unrest widely expected on the mainland in coming weeks over government austerity plans to stoke a popular backlash against the government .
New bomb attacks on Corsica despite crackdown vow .  Sylvie Florence  AJACCIO , Corsica 1996-08-29  Separatist guerrillas planted two bombs overnight at government offices on the French Mediterranean island of Corsica despite fresh warnings of a crackdown by
Paris
, police said on Thursday .  In the latest in a wave of attacks , a two kg ( four lb ) bomb seriously damaged two floors of Agriculture Ministry offices located just 50 metres ( yards ) from a police station in the centre of the island capital Ajaccio .  No one was hurt .  A second device , packed with five kg ( 10 lbs ) of explosive , was defused before it could go off , police said .  The new attacks followed by a day a warning of a new " get-tough " policy by Paris toward the separatists , who seek greater autonomy .  Interior Minister Jean-Louis Debre , under fire for staging secret talks with one of the largest of several rival underground nationalist groups , told the daily La Corse in a statement he had given " firm orders " to police to round up those responsible for the bombings and bring them to justice .  Judges on the island had accused Paris of taking a lax stance on guerrilla violence while conducting secret but widely-reported talks with separatists which have now failed .  The latest bombing , close on the heels of the new orders , brought charges that police were powerless .  " No searches , no arrests , no police reinforcements visible on the island , despite the ministry 's promises , " the daily France-Soir lamented .  " On the island , as at the Place Beauvau ( the Interior Ministry 's Paris address ) , people are well aware who is who and who is doing what .  It is time to end this nightly farce , " said the pro-government daily Le Figaro in an editorial .  No one immediately claimed responsibility for Thursday 's incidents , which brought to 23 the number of guerrilla attacks on the resort island since mid-August , when separatist guerrillas ended a shaky seven-month truce .  Corsica has been racked by low-level separatist-inspired violence , principally directed against government targets , for two decades .  The daily Le Monde reported on Wednesday some separatist movements were considering taking their attacks to the French mainland on the principle that " 300 grammes of explosives on the continent have more impact than 300 kilos in Corsica " .  The newspaper said separatists may take advantage of social unrest widely expected on the mainland in coming weeks over government austerity plans to stoke a popular backlash against the government .
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