The Pyrénées-Orientales - French, Spanish or Catalan?
If not, not!
In 2010 I moved to the village of St Marsal, in the Eastern Pyrenees. I had thought I was moving to France, but instead, I found myself in French Catalonia, a different country altogether - with two different languages and two different cultures. A country where French and Catalan live side by side on the road signs.
In 1659, when the Franco-Spanish War ended, the northern part of Spanish Catalonia was given to France as part of the peace agreement. Three hundred and sixty-five years later, the mountain-people still don’t identify as French! In both the French and Spanish Pyrenees, the Catalans identify as Catalan first and French or Spanish second.
The text below, written by Robert Hughes, gives a good idea of the Catalan mindset.
‘In the mid thirteenth century (the year 1249) the Catalans and Aragonese swore a unique oath of allegiance to the Spanish monarch in Madrid. These words were spoken by a people who had no doubt about themselves and their identity as a people. They knew how to put kingship in perspective and did not believe in an absolute ruler. They believed that in a good and well-shaped society things should happen by contract based on mutual regard rather than by divine right.
‘We, who are as good as you, swear to you, who are no better than us, to accept you as our king and sovereign lord, provided you observe all our liberties and laws – but if not, not.’
Need I say more ...
Extract from Robert Hughes - ‘Barcelona the Great Enchantress’. (National Geographic, 2004).
Mount Canigou, French Catalonia (2785 m).
I loved Cadaqués, especially Dalí's house with the whitewashed courtyard and pale pink geraniums. Cadaqués is just over two hours drive from the gîte we rented in St Marsal: a 45 min drive down the mountain to Amélie- les-Bains then another hour and a half to Cadaqués.
We rented on and off for two years, disappearing when the rents went up in July and August. Going back to South Africa or renting on the Spanish side of the Pyrenees., in Catalonia.
Where do you live?
This is so interesting, as I've never heard of French Catalonia. I've just had a look online, and it looks stunning. I went to Cadaqués a few months ago, which looks quite close to that area?