Ajaccio, Corsica - Corsica's most senior government official was shot dead in the street by unidentified gunmen in Ajaccio last night, police said. Mr Claude Erignac (59), who as Corsica's prefect was the highest representative of the Paris government on the Mediterranean island, was shot with about 15 bullets while on his way to a classical music concert, they said.
Police said two young men apparently gunned him down after he dropped his wife off at the theatre and had just parked his car down the street, France Info radio reported. They fled on foot, throwing away a pistol which police soon found. President Chirac expressed his shock in a statement and said he would "make sure the state's authority is respected".