Corsica attack before Jospin visit

Jospin is due in Ajaccio for a one-day visit on Saturday.

AJACCIO, Corsica -- An explosive device has gone off outside a police station in Corsica's largest city Ajaccio ahead of an election campaign visit by French Prime Minister Lionel Jospin.

The attack on the gendarme barracks shattered windows and damaged several cars parked by the building, but caused no injuries.

Jospin, who is running for the French presidency in this month's election, has said he will review the future status of Corsica if he wins the presidency.

The attack is the latest in a series of explosions, kidnappings and murders that have shaken the Mediterranean island for more than two decades.

The violence has largely been carried out by radical movements seeking independence from France.

No one has claimed responsibility for the attack that happened late on Wednesday.

Jospin last year launched a controversial reform granting Corsica limited autonomy in an effort to end the separatist violence.

The reform was abandoned by France's Constitutional Court ruling that allowed local Corsican leaders more control over their own affairs by amending certain national laws counteracted with the French constitution.

The island's assembly, which has been under French rule since 1768, wants more influence on how some Paris laws can be adapted to suit Corsica's interests as well as promotion of the island's language.

The nationalist violence and bombings have targeted French public buildings, holiday homes and resorts.