A little-known separatist group has said it assassinated France's top official, Claude Erignac, on the Mediterranean island of Corsica last Friday.

In a statement to the local media, the group said: "The action we are claiming today was perfectly thought-out and highly political." The statement denounced Erignac's policies on the environment and agriculture and for his "deliberately militant role in the repression."

It was not signed but regarded as authentic because it gave a manufacturer's reference numbers for a Beretta 9-mm pistol used by the gunmen that was found at the scene of Friday's killing.

Police identified it as a gun that was seized from two officers last September in an attack claimed by a previously unknown group, Sampieru.

Police raids continue

Claude Erignac, gunned down by nationalists

Police have arrested a 13th suspect, a dissident nationalist, in the latest of a series of raids targeting criminals and nationalist groups suspected of involvement in the killing of the Mr Erignac, 60.

He was shot in the back of the head by two men while on his way to a theatre to attend a concert.

The assassination of the state official in the streets of the capital, Ajaccio, has shocked France and stunned Corsica. His murder is regarded as the worst act of political violence in more than two decades of unrest.

French leaders attend memorial

President Chirac leads the mourning

At a memorial ceremony in Ajaccio, President Jacques Chirac accused organised crime of being involved in the murder and promised that Mr Erignac's killers would be punished.

Speaking to a large crowd of people gathered around a monument to soldiers killed in the last war, Mr Chirac said: "In the name of all French people, from Corsica and from France, I say No! We will not tolerate (more violence)."

The President was flanked by the Prime Minister, Lionel Jospin, and government ministers.

Earlier bells tolled across the island and shops, offices and schools observed 15 minutes of silence called by local politicians and trade unions.

Corsica's main nationalist groups, who have been fighting for independence since the 1970s, have joined in the condemnation expressed by many of the island's 250,000 inhabitants.

Nationalists divided

Polls show that the majority of Corsicans want to remain part of France which heavily subsidises the economy. But many people would like greater autonomy.

Some nationalists have been frustrated by expectations they will fail to gain seats in the Corsican regional assembly in March 15 elections.

The island's nationalist political groups, most supported by armed factions, are badly divided. Many of their leaders were killed in a fratricidal war in 1995 and suspicions linger of Mafia-style links with some of the separatists.
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