French commandos boarded a ferry hijacked by striking sailors and retook the vessel near Corsica on Wednesday, as the French government grappled with widening protests against the planned privatization of a state ferry company. The sailors belong to a union allied with Corsica's powerful nationalist movement, which has waged a long and often violent separatist struggle against France.
See "Commandos Retake Ship Seized by French Strikers", Sebastian Rotella, Los Angeles Times, September 28, 2005