France–Spain border

The border between France and Spain in Portalet d'Aneu

Marker indicating the border between France and Spain, in the towns of Llivia (Girona) and Angoustrine-Villeneuve-des-Escaldes (Pyrénées-Orientales)

The Franco-Spanish border runs for 656.3 kilometres (407.8 mi) between southwestern France and northeastern Spain. It begins in the west on the Bay of Biscay at the French city of Hendaye and the Spanish city of Irun (43°22′32″N 01°47′31″W). The border continues eastward along the Pyrenees to the sovereign nation of Andorra (42°36′13″N 1°26′30″E). At this point, the small country interrupts the border between Spain and France for 63.7 kilometres (39.6 mi) on the Spanish side and 56 kilometres (35 mi) on the French side. Then the border continues eastward (42°30′09″N 01°43′34″E) to the Mediterranean Sea at Cerbère in France and Portbou in Spain (42°26′09″N 03°10′26″E).

From west to east, crossing the border:

• Spain
  • Gipuzkoa (Basque Country)
  • Navarre
  • Province of Huesca (Aragon)
  • Province of Lleida (Catalonia)
  • Province of Girona (Catalonia)
• France
  • Pyrénées-Atlantiques (Nouvelle-Aquitaine)
  • Hautes-Pyrénées (Occitanie)
  • Haute-Garonne (Occitanie)
  • Ariège (Occitanie)
  • Pyrénées-Orientales (Occitanie)

Spain has an exclave in France, Llívia, in the Pyrénées-Orientales.

Shortly after the start of the western border, following the course of the river Bidasoa, Pheasant Island located in the middle of the river has a particular border regime: the island is a condominium whose sovereignty is shared between the two countries determined by if it is the first or the second half of a year.[1]

The formal layout of the Franco-Spanish border dates back to the signing of the Treaty of the Pyrenees between the kingdoms of Spain and France in 1659. This would be followed by the Treaty of Llivia the following year, which transferred to France the sovereignty of several villages in the valley of Querol.

Later there would be some agreements on specific areas: the agreement signed in Perpignan in 1764, which established the boundaries between Empordà and Coll Pertús[2] and the Elizondo Treaty in 1785 establishing limits on the height of Aldudes is demarcated and Valcarlos.[3]

The final definition, that for the most part still in force, was conducted with the signing of the Bayonne Treaties between 1856 and 1868. During the mandates of the Queen of Spain Isabel II and French emperor Napoleon III between the two countries were signed several agreements by which the border was established:[4]

• The Treaty of 1856, establishing the boundary between the provinces of Guipuzcoa is demarcated and Navarre.
• The treaty of 1862, which marked the boundaries in the provinces of Huesca and Lleida.
• The treaty of 1866, which did the same from the valley of Andorra to the Mediterranean Sea.
• Final Act of limits, signed in 1868.

Later both countries concluded agreements under the same point. In 1980 an agreement was signed to define the border into the Bielsa-Aragnouet tunnel,[5] and 1984, during the construction of the road linking the Roncal Valley with Arette, it was agreed a mutual transfer of land of 2710 m² (29,170 sq. ft.).[6]

In 1995, with the entry into force of Schengen Agreement, border controls for people and goods were abolished, thus ensuring freedom of movement across the border.