It was the longest closure since 1948. This Sunday, all borders with Spain reopened, ending the restrictions put in place as part of the coronavirus crisis.
🚗🇪🇸🇫🇷Reopening of the authorized crossing point of #ColduPortillon at the # Franco-Spanish border in #HauteGaronne from Sunday, June 21, 2020 6am for all vehicles and pedestrians. The press release ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/3rktLxyz5p
- Prefect of the Occitanie and Haute-Garonne regions (@PrefetOccitanie) June 19, 2020Since the start of confinement, the number of accesses with our neighbor had greatly reduced. On March 17, the Col du Portillon in Haute-Garonne had been closed to limit trade and therefore the circulation of the coronavirus between the two border countries. Since 6:00 a.m. this morning, and following a joint decision by the two governments, pedestrians and cars can again travel there.
The Bielsa-Aragnouet tunnel in the Hautes-Pyrénées was also closed in mid-April by prefectural decree.
24 hours earlier
These traffic restrictions were to be lifted overnight Sunday through Monday, but the two countries have advanced the possibility of crossing borders again normally by 24 hours. And customs should be on deck to monitor trade, as before March 17.
Spanish border open at the #pourtalet pass for example
👉the longest closure since 1948 ends #pyrenees 📷 @espalet pic.twitter.com/9E2kCIKyve
In 1948, the border had reopened after two years of closure. The reasons were not health but political. The French government of the time had decided to sever relations with Spain following the execution by Franco of a dozen Spanish Republicans.
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