Secluded among weeds, with stickers and graffiti and with the name of Spain partially erased. It is the state of the only sign that indicates entry into Spanish territory when crossing, on foot or by car, the Santiago Bridge, which connects the French town of Hendaye with Irún, crossing the natural border of the Bidasoa River. At that same point, three other signs announcing the entrance to Guipúzcoa (in Basque) and Francia and Lapurdi in the opposite direction remain impeccable. The latter is the toponymic name of the French province adjacent to our country, which in the imagination of the Basque independence movement is part of the seven territories that make up Euskal Herria. “It’s been like this for years,” say locals who travel through it every day, taking advantage of the freedom of movement for goods and people that allows being part of the European Union and, specifically, the Schengen Area. It is one of the three land crossing points between Spain and France within the Basque Country. And it is marked by tragedy, because, although the French Gendarmerie patrols have now reduced their presence in the area, at least three sub-Saharan immigrants have drowned at that height of the river in recent years, trying to avoid police controls. to reach the French-speaking communities beyond the Pyrenees. Related News standard No A driver arrested in Irun who transported two people in an irregular situation to France for 200 euros ABC The 50-year-old man would have charged 100 euros from each of these citizens of Asian origin who wanted to cross the borderInstitutional neglectThe Behobia international bridge, three kilometers from the first, is the second of the passable border points, where there is a detachment of the security forces of the neighboring country usually stationed. The same thing happens in this one as in the previous one. A sign indicates the entrance to Guipúzcoa when arriving from France. When doing the route in reverse, again the Lapurdi signage and, behind it, a sign dependent on the Department of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques (French administration) indicating that you are in France in white letters on a blue background. The last one is the one on the footbridge along which the AP-8 motorway runs, at a height close to the French municipality of Biriatou, where there is a sign when crossing into national territory in which Spain can be read within the stars representing the Union. European. Behind, yes, that of Guipúzcoa. The ownership of these roads (GI-636-H, GI-636 and AP-8), falls on the Provincial Council of Guipúzcoa, at the head of which the PNV has been since the elections of the year past. They refuse to make statements to this newspaper’s questions about whether there is an intention behind the state and maintenance or, rather, the non-maintenance of the signs. However, different sources consulted point to the “neglect” that the regional Executive and the Government Delegation have shown in recent decades regarding this issue. “No one has cared, we have done nothing,” so the distinction that exists is “between Guipúzcoa and Lapurdi and not between Spain and France.” Nor does anyone know those responsible for the vandalization of the sign on the Santiago bridge, behind which some “radical” group in the area could be, according to local residents. In fact, on its bricks you can see several graffiti with messages such as “break the borders” or “border killers” written in Basque. The controversy surrounding road signage in Guipúzcoa has history. Ones in which there is intention to transform the toponymy towards a vision in line with Basque nationalism, which permeates a sector of the region’s political class. In March 2015, the Superior Court of Justice of the Basque Country (TSJPV) forced the Provincial Council, then governed by EH Bildu, to cover references to Navarra as part of Euskal Herria on various signs placed on roads in the province. The Navarrese Government denounced the situation and the TSJPV adopted precautionary measures, after which the Guipuzcoan Provincial Council covered the posters instead of removing them “so that in the future they can return to their previous state.” A gradual process Four years before, also during the mandate of EH Bildu, the changes had begun. In addition to introducing the names of “Gipuzkoa” and “Lapurdi” on the border bridges that persist to this day, he adapted other road signs in the direction of France, so that “Baiona” appeared instead of the name of the French State. . It is worth remembering that the Basque independence left, today led by Arnaldo Otegi, not only denies that the three provinces that make up the Basque Country – Vizcaya, Álava and Guipúzcoa – and Navarra are part of Spain, but also that up to three French regions are part of which ideally makes up an independent Basque State. One that EH Bildu hopes to reach, as set out in its latest strategic document, through a “gradual process”, taking advantage of the current circumstances, leaving aside – at least apparently – the unilateral route.
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