2024-08-01 16:05:04
Six months Spanish, six months French: the island of Pheasants, a river island on Bidasoa in the Basque Country, changed its country on Wednesday, August 1, to France after one semester, from February to July , used under Spanish rule. A well-organized but unconventional culture, the small island is the only territory in the world governed by two countries, France and Spain, and has been doing so for 170 years.
Like every six months, the transfer of powers ceremony is organized on Thursday, to elect the vice governor of the small uninhabited island closed to the public. The title for the next six months was given to Pauline Potier, deputy director of the direction of the regions and the sea of Pyrénées-Atlantiques.
The endless rotation of sovereignty confirms the condominium status of Pheasant Island, that is, an area on which two countries exercise jointly. A provision related to the history of the two countries, marked by subsequent wars, in which the small island went from a symbol of their rivalry to one of peace.
A place for discussions
Because of its international position, the islands of Pheasants were among the past places of exchange of royal brides or even prisoners, with François I in 1526. It was also the level of diplomatic negotiations between France and Spain, in particular to put things. put an end to the ongoing conflict between the two countries, giving the island another name, that of Conference Island.
In 1659, Cardinal Mazarin, the representative of Louis XIV, and Luis de Haro, the prime minister of Philip IV of Spain, signed the Treaty of the Pyrenees there. This ended decades of war and established the current border between the two countries. The treaty was then signed by the kings of France and Spain on May 5, 1660, also in the center of the Convention Islands. These important events in Franco-Spanish history have made this island a symbol of dialogue between the two countries.
The change of administration of the Île des Faisans was subsequently confirmed by the treaty of Bayonne, on December 2, 1856. The latter stated that the small island, washed by the river, was placed under an undivided jurisdiction of both countries, giving it. Condominium location. It is therefore under Spanish jurisdiction from February 1 to July 31, and under French jurisdiction from August 1 to January 31.
Today, a small piece of wooded land is home to a monument, installed in 1861 by Napoleon III and Isabella II of Spain, in memory of the convention of 1659. The maintenance of the island is done on the basis of rotating Cities of Hendaye for France, and Irun for Spain.
Condominiums elsewhere in the world
If the choice of ownership over the same area is a unique issue, there are many condominiums around the world. This is especially the case for the waterways marking the border between Germany and Luxembourg, and the bridges that cross them, under the federal government of both countries.
The Republic of the Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo also share sovereignty over the islands of the Congo River, with the exception of M’Bamou Island, located above the capitals of Brazzaville and Kinshasa. There are also other cases in Central and Latin America, and in the United Arab Emirates including Oman.
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