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 .