España
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France-Spain Relations
Relations between Spain and France
Relations between Spain and France, Hispano-French relations or Franco-Spanish relations are terms that refer to the relations between the Kingdom of Spain and the French Republic. They are bordering countries with a common border along the Pyrenees mountain range. Member States of the European Union (EU), they are both part of the Schengen area and the Eurozone. They are also members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (OTAN).
Background
In the Ancient Ages, the entire continental territory of both Gaul and Hispania were Roman provinces of the Roman Empire. The Romans introduced the Latin language, the predecessor of modern Spanish and French, and for a time both territories were incorporated into the Gallic Empire.
History
Relations between the Spanish Monarchy and the Kingdom of France
Louis XIV and Philip IV signing the Treaty of the Pyrenees on Pheasant Island.
Main articles: Thirty Years' War, Franco-Spanish War (1635-1659) and Treaty of the Pyrenees.
In the Treaty of the Pyrenees of 1659, the Spanish Monarchy ceded to the Kingdom of France part of the county of Artois, places in Flanders, Hainaut, Luxembourg; Roussillon, Conflent and part of Cerdagne; on the other hand it recovered Charolais and some places occupied in Italy.4
Main articles: Franco-Dutch War and the Treaties of Nijmegen.
In 1678, the Peace of Nijmegen formally ratified the annexation by France of the Franche-Comté, conquered four years earlier by the troops of Louis XIV.5
18th century
Main article: Treaty of Versailles (1701)
Main article: War of the Spanish Succession and Treaty of Utrecht.
In the Treaty of Utrecht, Philip V of Spain came to ratify the terms of the peace agreements that had essentially been previously reached by his grandfather Louis XIV of France, leaving him little room for maneuver. Philip V also renounced the possibility of acceding to the throne of France.
Spain was isolated internationally after the disaster of '98.8 Spain and France, since the installation of the latter in Gabon from 1843 onwards, entered into conflict for the control of the Gulf of Guinea area, since Spain had a legal basis since the Treaty of San Ildefonso of 1777, reached with Portugal, for the colonization of the continental part of Equatorial Guinea -Muni River- of which it began to take possession around that time.9 The Paris Convention of 1900 ratified Spanish sovereignty over the territory of Rio Muni and delimited the borders of the territory as well as those of the territory of Rio de Oro (in the Sahara).
See also: Treaty of Paris of 1900
During the majority of Alfonso XIII the Spanish cabinets were inclined to try to reach an alliance with France and Great Britain, propitiated finally by the colonial agreements of 1904 between the 3 countries; this alliance would be reinforced with the signature of the Declarations of Cartagena in 1907.12 In 1912 the definitive agreement with France of 1912 would be signed that would implant the Protectorate of Morocco. Spain remained neutral in the First World War that confronted the Central Powers and the Franco-British entente; with the end of the Great War, a position of growing suspicion towards France and Germany would be accentuated due to the unresolved questions of the status of Tangier as an international city and Gibraltar; although the Spanish-French military collaboration in the landing of Al Hoceima in 1925 put an end to the conflict in Morocco.
Second Spanish Republic and Third French Republic
In 1931, after the proclamation of the Second Spanish Republic, a certain concern appeared in France about the possibility of Spain modifying the status of the protectorate, due to some declarations of Indalecio Prieto, which were however later explained as a personal position of the minister by other members of the government. In April 1934 the effective occupation of Ifni by Spain took place, after an unsuccessful attempt the previous year, a fact that was interpreted by the French press in a negative way, even though the French government already expected the move.
The French Third Republic was the object of mentions by Spanish politicians of the Second Spanish Republic, in a sort of reference when it came to establishing historical parallels, both positively and negatively.19 During the 1930s, the Maurrasian extreme right and its Action Française influenced the authoritarian and anti-democratic Spanish right concentrated around the journal Acción Española, just as French radicalism was an important reference during this period for Spanish republicanists, several of whom declared themselves identified with a Jacobinist spirit.
Spanish Civil War
According to Ricardo Miralles, in spite of the geostrategic and political advantages for France of maintaining the republican regime in Spain during the Civil War, the internal instability and the growing international isolation of France prevented the implementation of effective measures to that end. The Non-Intervention Pact signed by the United Kingdom and France, among other countries, prevented the Republican government from accessing the international arms market; however, the government of Léon Blum did turn a blind eye to the transit through its territory of contraband weapons destined for the Republican side coming from the Soviet Union.
In 1939, the French government sent Léon Bérard to Burgos with the task of negotiating an agreement signed on February 25 for the establishment of "good neighborly" relations with the rebel side, represented at the meetings by General Gómez Jordana,2425 prior to France's official recognition of Franco's regime on February 27. Shortly thereafter, on March 2, Pétain became ambassador to Spain. The arrival of Spanish exiles in France was an issue that polarized French society.
World War II
In the first months of 1939 Gómez-Jordana had managed to set in motion as foreign minister the process of re-establishing relations with France; after the outbreak of the Second World War by the Germanophile Serrano Suñer he replaced Beigbeder in the post. The fall of France in June 1940 brought about the change from the "neutrality" of the Franco dictatorship in the conflict to the position of "non-belligerency". The retribution to Spain by the Nazis was limited to the repression of the Spanish exile in France and the repatriation from France to Spain of some prominent members of the exile. In spite of the similarities that could be established between the regime headed by General Petáin and the Franco dictatorship, the latter did not manage to develop fluid relations with Vichy between 1940 and 1942, among other reasons because of Spanish colonial aspirations in North Africa at the expense of France and because of a greater identification with Nazi Germany. In fact, according to Juan Avilés Farré, the worldview created by a part of the Spanish right-wing thinkers turned France -which would have been guided by the objective of "dwarfing Spain" since the 16th century- into the cause of Spain's decadence and the repeated enemy of the country throughout recent history, based on the Frenchification of society.
After World War II
After the end of the Second World War, France and Spain - diplomatically marginalized abroad - were very distanced diplomatically; the French governments tried to veto Spain's entry into the UN and the border was closed between March 1, 1946 and February 10, 1948; it was opened when France admitted the need for a more pragmatic approach to relations at a time when France, in the midst of reconstruction after the war, could benefit from Spanish exports.38 The dictatorial nature of Franco's regime prevented the normalization of political relations -but not trade and economic relations- until the process of re-establishing them began in 1950.
France, with a view to re-establishing the post of ambassador to Spain, agreed to the appointment of Bernard Hardion, a candidate proposed by the Socialists who since 1945 had served as French representative without the post of ambassador,41 in what was perceived as a symptom of the weak position of Foreign Minister Schuman, The Spanish government rejected him at first, but after announcing that he would be replaced in three months by Jacques Meyrier, it finally gave its approval,42 and he was sworn in at the beginning of 1951.
Bilateral relations began to improve during the 1950s due to the right-wing drift of the Fourth Republic and the failure of the steps towards the fall of Francisco Franco's dictatorship. One issue that remained a pending matter during this period was the Spanish Republican expatriates on French soil. The advent of the Fifth French Republic, viewed favorably from Spain, further improved relations. With regard to the Algiers Putsch of 1961, it has been noted that despite the Franco regime's possible strategic interest in maintaining Algeria's status as a French colony as opposed to its independence (moreover, a significant percentage of pieds-noirs were of Spanish origin), the Spanish government tended to support de Gaulle during the crisis, but not the press, whose point of view was not unanimous; However, Ramón Serrano Súñer sympathized with Raoul Salan during the latter's stay in Spain and facilitated his transfer to Algeria to carry out the coup. 44 An additional complication during this period, however, was the refuge offered by Spain to members of the OAS (previously it had also taken in members of the Algerian National Liberation Front).43 The province and the city of Alicante received an important number of pieds-noirs refugees, in a process that, although it had already begun around 1955, was especially accentuated in 1962,45 the year of Algeria's independence.
The process of Spain's incorporation into the European Economic Community -Spain presented its candidacy in 1977 and joined the EEC in 1986- was hindered by France, influenced by the perception that Spain's agricultural potential was detrimental to its interests.
France, which after Franco's death remained reluctant to collaborate effectively with Spain on counter-terrorism with regard to ETA, changed its position in the late 1980s and 1990s, thereafter helping to reduce the gang's effectiveness.47 Spain, France and the United Kingdom were the main EU member countries to classify the ETA organization as a terrorist group.
Today, France is one of Spain's largest trading partners. In March 2015, Felipe VI of Spain chose to go to France as his first diplomatic visit since his proclamation. The visit was seen as a way to congratulate the excellent bilateral relations between France and Spain.
Current border
Formation
The current border was drawn up following the Treaty of the Pyrenees of 1659, although, unlike the eastern zone, the essential delimitation of the border in the western and central zones of the Pyrenees mountain range predates this date (the western zone dates from the 15th and 16th centuries and the central zone has its origin in medieval borders); the territories to be separated from the Crown agreed in the treaty would be the county of Roussillon, Conflent and part of Cerdagne, while the island of the Pheasants became a condominium.56 In 1660 the partition of Cerdagne between the Habsburg Monarchy and France was consolidated, giving rise to the maintenance by the former of the small enclave of Llivia. In 1660 the partition of Cerdanya was consolidated between the Habsburg Monarchy and France, giving rise to the maintenance by the former of the small enclave of Llivia. Subsequent to 1660, the treaties of Bayonne of 1856, 1862 and 1866 between Spain and France proceeded to the demarcation of the border between the two states.
French Embassy in Madrid.
Although the Schengen agreement, to which Spain and France adhered when it came into force in 1995, led to the creation of a free space for the movement of people, the French-Spanish border would see several reinforcements of border controls due to the political activities of ETA and the CDR, and the socioeconomic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Trade relations
France was in 2016 the first destination of Spanish exports (15.6 % in 2016) and Spain was the second recipient of French exports61 (7.6 % in 2016) after Germany.
https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Relaci...%B1a_y_Francia
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