{{Short description|International border}} {{Expand language|topic=|langcode=Fr|otherarticle=Frontière entre l'Espagne et la France|date=April 2026}} {{Infobox border | name =France–Spain border | image =Pyrenees map shaded relief-fr.svg | alt = | caption =The border, as seen on the map | territory1 =• France<br />• Spain | territory2 = | length =685,42 km (425,9 miles)<ref>{{Cite book |last=Capdevila i Subirana |first=Joan |title=Historia del deslinde de la frontera hispano-francesa: del tratado de los Pirineos (1659) a los tratados de Bayona (1856-1868) |date=2017 |publisher=Centro Nacional de Inforamación Geográfica |isbn=978-84-416-1480-2 |location=Madrid}}</ref> | enclaves = 1 | established = | establishedreason = | current = | currentreason = | disestablished = | disestablishedreason = | treaties = Treaty of the Pyrenees, {{Start date and age|1659}} | notes = }}
The '''France–Spain border'''<ref>({{Langx|fr|Frontière entre l'Espagne et la France}}; {{Langx|es|Frontera entre España y Francia}})</ref> was formally defined in 1659. It separates the two countries from the Basque cities of Hendaye and Irun in the west, running through the Pyrenees to Cerbère and Portbou on the Mediterranean Sea. It runs roughly along the drainage divide defined by the Pyrenees, though with several exceptions.
==Features== ===Main border=== [[File:Ancien poste frontière au col du Pourtalet (côté espagnol).jpg|thumb|280px|The border between France and Spain in Portalet d'Aneu]] [[File:Frontera España-Francia, por el enclave de Llívia.png|thumb|280px|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 {{convert|685.42|km|mi}} between southwestern France and northeastern Spain.<ref name="Capdevila i Subirana-2009">{{Cite book |last=Capdevila i Subirana |first=Joan |title=Historia del deslinde de la frontera hispano-francesa: del Tratado de los Pirineos (1659) a los Tratados de Bayona (1856-1868) |date=2009 |publisher=Centro Nacional de Inforamación Geográfica (Ministerio de Fomento) |isbn=978-84-416-1480-2 |location=Madrid |language=spanish |trans-title=History of the demarcation of the Spanish-French border: from the Treaty of the Pyrenees (1659) to the Treaties of Bayonne (1856-1868)}}</ref> It begins in the west on the Bay of Biscay at the French city of Hendaye and the Spanish city of Irun ({{coord|43|22|32|N|01|47|31|W}}). The border continues eastward along the Pyrenees to the sovereign nation of Andorra ({{coord|42|36|13|N|1|26|30|E}}). At this point, the small country interrupts the border between Spain and France for {{convert|63.7|km|mi}} on the Spanish side and {{convert|56|km|mi}} on the French side. Then the border continues eastward ({{coord|42|30|09|N|01|43|34|E}}) to the Mediterranean Sea at Cerbère in France and Portbou in Spain ({{coord|42|26|09|N|03|10|26|E}}). The perimeter of the Llívia enclave is also included.
From west to east, crossing the border:
{| | ;Spain * Gipuzkoa (Basque Country) * Navarre * Province of Huesca (Aragon) * Province of Lleida (Catalonia) * Province of Girona (Catalonia) |width=80| | ;France * Pyrénées-Atlantiques (Nouvelle-Aquitaine) * 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=== Near the western end of the border, following the course of the river Bidasoa, Pheasant Island (located in the middle of the river) has an unusual border regime: the island is a condominium whose sovereignty is shared between the two countries: one country in January–June each year, and the other country in July–December.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.elmundo.es/elmundo/2012/02/02/espana/1328202785.html|title=España asume la jurisdicción de la isla de los Faisanes, la más pequeña del mundo|first=Unidad Editorial|last=Internet|website=Elmundo.es|access-date=22 January 2019}}</ref>
==History== thumb|Border pass for Spanish farmers to access their fields on the French side, as agreed in the Bayonne treaties 1856 and 1862. Type shown introduced 1949, this pass issued 1965.
===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 was 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 were some further agreements covering specific areas: * the agreement signed in Perpignan in 1764, which established the boundaries between Empordà and Coll Pertús<ref name="Cantillo-1843">{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/tratadosconveni00cantgoog|title=Tratados, convenios y declaraciones de paz y de comercio: que han hecho con las potencias estranjeras los monarcas españoles de la casa de Borbon : desde el año de 1700 hasta el dia|year=1843|first=Alejandro del|last=Cantillo|publisher=Alegria y Charlain|access-date=22 January 2019|via=Internet Archive}}</ref> and * the Elizondo Treaty in 1785 establishing limits on the height of Aldudes is demarcated<ref name="Capdevila i Subirana-2009" /> and Valcarlos.<ref name="Cantillo-1843"/>
===Bayonne Treaties=== The final definition, which for the most part is still in force, is set out in the Bayonne Treaties between 1856 and 1868. During the mandates{{clarify|date=October 2024}} of Queen Isabel II and the French emperor Napoleon III, several agreements were signed between the two countries by which the border was established:<ref name = "Bayonne">[http://fama2.us.es/fde/ocr/2007/documentosInternacionalesDelReinadoDeIsabelII.pdf Treaties of Bayonne of 1856, 1862, 1866 and 1868] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303180258/http://fama2.us.es/fde/ocr/2007/documentosInternacionalesDelReinadoDeIsabelII.pdf |date=2016-03-03 }}, Fama2.us.es</ref> * 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 borders, signed in 1868.
===Subsequent amendments=== Later both countries concluded agreements under the same point.{{clarify|date=October 2024}} In 1980 an agreement was signed to define the border into{{clarify|date=October 2024}} the Bielsa-Aragnouet tunnel,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://noticias.juridicas.com/base_datos/Admin/ctbielsa.html|title=Convenio de 25 de abril de 1980 entre España y Francia para fijar la delimitación de la frontera en el interior del túnel transpirenaico Bielsa Aragnouet, hecho en París.|website=Noticias Jurídicas|access-date=22 January 2019}}</ref> and 1984, during the construction of the road linking the Roncal Valley with Arette, a mutual transfer of land of 2710 m<sup>2</sup> (29,170 sq ft) was agreed.<ref name="Legal.un.org">{{cite web|url=http://legal.un.org/ola/Default.aspx|title=United Nations - Office of Legal Affairs|website=Legal.un.org|access-date=22 January 2019}}</ref>
In 1995, with the entry into force of the Schengen Agreement, border controls for people and goods were abolished, thus ensuring freedom of movement across the border. A number of disused border stations remain.
==Marking== [[File:Mandale-Borne8.JPG|thumbnail|200px|A border marker between Vera de Bidasoa and Biriatou]]
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: the first located on the Bidasoa and the last in Cap Cerbère, 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 into the enclave. Maintaining this signaling runs<ref name="Capdevila i Subirana-2009" /> either on behalf of both states.<ref name = "Bayonne" /><ref name="Legal.un.org"/>
==Crossings== thumbnail|200px|Poster entry to Spain thumbnail|200px|Poster entry to France {{Incomplete list|date=January 2023}} {{columns-list|colwidth=20em| *Irun / Hendaye *Ibardin *Larrún *Coll de Banyuls *Col de Lizuniaga *Col de Lizarrieta *Ainhoa / 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 *Col du Pourtalet *Port of Boucharo *Aragnouet–Bielsa Tunnel *Col du Portillon *Pont du Roi *Puigcerdà / Bourg-Madame *Col d'Ares *Col du Perthus *Col des Balistres (Portbou / Cerbère) }}
==References== {{commons}} {{Reflist}}
{{Borders of France}} {{Borders of Spain}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:France-Spain border}} Category:France–Spain border Category:1659 establishments in France Category:1659 in international relations Category:1659 establishments in Spain Category:European Union internal borders Category:Borders of Spain Category:Borders of France Category:International borders