The France–Spain border (; ) was formally defined in 1659. It separates the two countries from

Hendaye Hendaye ( Basque: ''Hendaia'')HENDAIA
Irun in the west, running through the

Pyrenees The Pyrenees (; es, Pirineos ; french: Pyrénées ; ca, Pirineu ; eu, Pirinioak ; oc, Pirenèus ; an, Pirineus) is a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. It extends nearly from its union with the Cantabrian Mountains to ...

to Cerbère and Portbou on the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ...

Features

Main border

The Franco-Spanish border runs for between southwestern France and northeastern Spain. It begins in the west on the Bay of Biscay at the French city of

Hendaye Hendaye ( Basque: ''Hendaia'')HENDAIA
Irun (). The border continues eastward along the

Andorra , image_flag = Flag of Andorra.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Andorra.svg , symbol_type = Coat of arms , national_motto = la, Virtus Unita Fortior, label=none (Latin)"United virtue is stro ...

(). At this point, the small country interrupts the border between Spain and France for on the Spanish side and on the French side. Then the border continues eastward () to the

at Cerbère in France and Portbou in Spain (). From west to east, crossing the border: * Spain **

Gipuzkoa Gipuzkoa (, , ; es, Guipúzcoa ; french: Guipuscoa) is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the autonomous community of the Basque Country. Its capital city is Donostia-San Sebastián. Gipuzkoa shares borders with the French depa ...

( Basque Country) ** Navarre **

Province of Huesca Huesca ( an, Uesca, ca, Osca), officially Huesca/Uesca, is a province of northeastern Spain, in northern Aragon. The capital is Huesca. Positioned just south of the central Pyrenees, Huesca borders France and the French Departments of Haute-G ...

( Aragon) ** Province of Lleida (

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a '' nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the nort ...

) ** Province of Girona (Catalonia) * France **

Pyrénées-Atlantiques Pyrénées-Atlantiques (; Gascon Occitan: ''Pirenèus Atlantics''; eu, Pirinio Atlantiarrak or ) is a department in the southwest corner of France and of the region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. Named after the Pyrenees mountain range and the Atlant ...

(

Nouvelle-Aquitaine Nouvelle-Aquitaine (; oc, Nòva Aquitània or ; eu, Akitania Berria; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Novéle-Aguiéne'') is the largest administrative region in France, spanning the west and southwest of the mainland. The region was created by ...

) ** Hautes-Pyrénées ( Occitanie) ** Haute-Garonne (Occitanie) ** Ariège (Occitanie) ** Pyrénées-Orientales (Occitanie)

Llívia

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

Pheasant Island

Shortly after the start of the western border, following the course of the river

Bidasoa __NOTOC__ The Bidasoa (, ; french: Bidassoa, ) is a river in the Basque Country of northern Spain and southern France that runs largely south to north. Named as such downstream of the village of Oronoz-Mugairi (municipality of Baztan) in the p ...

Pheasant Island Pheasant Island (french: Île des Faisans/Île de la Conférence, es, Isla de los Faisanes, eu, Konpantzia, ) is an uninhabited river island in the Bidasoa river, located between France and Spain, whose administration alternates between the ...

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.

History

Background

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 Emporda (from the official name in ca, Empordà, , name in es, Ampurdán, ) is a natural and historical region of Catalonia, Spain, divided since 1936 into two ''comarques'', Alt Empordà and Baix Empordà. The city of Figueres, an important ...

and Coll Pertús and the Elizondo Treaty in 1785 establishing limits on the height of Aldudes is demarcated and Valcarlos.

Bayonne Treaties

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 Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A nephew ...

between the two countries were signed several agreements by which the border was established:Treaties of Bayonne of 1856, 1862, 1866 and 1868
, Fama2.us.es * The Treaty of 1856, establishing the boundary between the provinces of

Guipuzcoa Gipuzkoa (, , ; es, Guipúzcoa ; french: Guipuscoa) is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the autonomous community of the Basque Country. Its capital city is Donostia-San Sebastián. Gipuzkoa shares borders with the French depa ...

is demarcated and Navarre. * The treaty of 1862, which marked the boundaries in the provinces of

Huesca Huesca (; an, Uesca) is a city in north-eastern Spain, within the autonomous community of Aragon. It is also the capital of the Spanish province of the same name and of the comarca of Hoya de Huesca. In 2009 it had a population of 52,059, almo ...

and Lleida. * The treaty of 1866, which did the same from the valley of

to the

. * Final Act of limits, signed in 1868.

Subsequent amendments

Later both countries concluded agreements under the same point. In 1980 an agreement was signed to define the border into the Bielsa-Aragnouet tunnel, and 1984, during the construction of the road linking the Roncal Valley with

Arette Arette (; oc, Areta) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of southwestern France. It is located in the arrondissement of Oloron-Sainte-Marie and the canton of Oloron-Sainte-Marie-1. Geogr ...

, it was agreed a mutual transfer of land of 2710 m². In 1995, with the entry into force of

Schengen Agreement The Schengen Agreement ( , ) is a treaty which led to the creation of Europe's Schengen Area, in which internal border checks have largely been abolished. It was signed on 14 June 1985, near the town of Schengen, Luxembourg, by five of the t ...

, border controls for people and goods were abolished, thus ensuring freedom of movement across the border.

Marking

Following the provisions of the treaties of Bayonne, the border is physically marked on the ground by 602 cairns showing the division between the two countries. These markers are numbered from west to east: one located on the

and the last in Cap Cerbere, marked with consecutive numbers and letters. Another 45 cairns mark the border around Llivia; they are numbered anticlockwise from the number 1 at the entrance of the French road RD-68 in the enclave. Maintaining this signaling runs either on behalf of both states.

Major crossings

* Irun /

Hendaye Hendaye ( Basque: ''Hendaia'')HENDAIA
Urdax *Col d'Iguskiegui *Col d'Ispeguy *Col d'Esnazu * Valcarlos / Arnéguy *Port of Larrau *Col de la Pierre Saint-Martin *Pas d'Arlas *

Somport Somport or Col du Somport, known also as the Aspe Pass or Canfranc Pass, (el. 1632 m.) is a mountain pass in the central Pyrenees on the border of France and Spain. Its name is derived from the Latin ''Summus portus''. It was one of the most popu ...

Col du Pourtalet The Col du Pourtalet, El Portalet or Portalet d'Aneu is a mountain pass and border crossing in the Pyrenees, between France and Spain. The pass reaches an elevation of , and links the Ossau and Tena valleys. The road across the pass is known a ...

*Port of Boucharo * Aragnouet–Bielsa Tunnel *Col du Portillon * Pont du Roi * Puigcerdà /

Bourg-Madame Bourg-Madame (; ca, La Guingueta d'Ix) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France. Geography Localisation Bourg-Madame is located in the canton of Les Pyrénées catalanes and in the arrondissement of Prades. I ...

*Col d'Ares * Col du Perthus *Col des Balistres ( Portbou / Cerbère)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:France-Spain border 1659 establishments in France 1659 in international relations 1659 establishments in Spain European Union internal borders Borders of Spain Borders of France International borders