French Basque Country

The French part of the Basque Country ( fr. pays basque français ) is the baskischsprachige from time immemorial area in the far south-west France. It covers three historic territories:

• Labourd (Basque Lapurdi )
• Lower Navarre (French Basse- Navarre, Basque Nafarroa Beherea, in the local dialect Benafarroa or Benabarra )
• Soule (Fr. also Soule, basque Soule, in the local dialect Xiberoa )

The French Basque Country is in Basque as Ipar Euskal Herria ( Northern Basque Country ) or Iparralde ( Northern Territory ) refers.

Geography

The French Basque country is bordered to the south by the Spanish Autonomous Communities of Navarra and the Basque Country, on the west by the Gulf of Biscay, in the north to the French Landes department and to the east by the historical province of Béarn, with whom it is today a French department of Pyrénées- Atlantiques forms. This is part of the Aquitaine region ( in Basque: Pirinio Atlantikoak and Akitania ).

Along the southern border runs the westernmost part of the Pyrenees on the West expire here to the Atlantic Ocean in lower mountain ranges. The highest point of the area is the Orhi or Ori (French Pic d' Orhy ), ( 2,017 m), lies on the Spanish-French border and marks the transition from Spanish Navarre and Soule. He is also the highest mountain which lies entirely in the Basque Country, but only the fourth highest behind the border peaks (highest peaks in total: the Hiru Erregeen Mahaia / Mesa de los Tres Reyes, 2424M ). The entire Basque Country is located outside the central Pyrenees, with its three thousand, which the department in southern Béarn with the Pic Palas ( 2974m, the highest point of Aquitaine ) nor just touches.

To the north, the Pyrenees beyond the plain of southwestern France, where the Talniveau outside of the range is only up to 100 m above sea level - in contrast to the widely higher the Spanish part of the Basque Country. The most important river is the Adour, which ends at the border of the land in the Atlantic.

The only major urban agglomeration of the French Basque country are the cities of Bayonne ( Baiona in Basque ), Biarritz ( in Basque Miarritze or Biarritz ) and Anglet ( in Basque Angelu ) in the northwest of the area of the Adour estuary and the Atlantic coast, which together just over 100,000 inhabitants have. Other important towns on the coast are Saint -Jean -de -Luz ( in Basque Donibane Lohizune ) and the border town of Hendaye ( in Basque Hendaia ). The interior, however, is influenced largely rural.

History

Until the French Revolution, the three Basque territories had, like the other historic provinces of France each independent political institutions. 1790, the historic provinces were dissolved, and the French Basque country was united with the neighboring Béarn to a Territory, the first bore the name Basses- Pyrénées and is now called Pyrénées-Atlantiques. The names of the historical territories (Basque herrialdes ), however, from Basque side continues to be used, and they are three of the seven territories of the Basque Country considered in the historical and cultural sense.

Policy

The regionalist / nationalist Basque movement in France is made up primarily for its own Basque department, even if the cultural sector to work with the Béarn and the rest of the Occitan language area associated parts of Aquitaine and the Langue d'oc region works well.

On 29 January 1997 the prefect of the Pyrenees- Atlantiques a " Pays Basque" realized by " arrêté préfectoral ", whose 2967 km ² large territory inhabited by approximately encloses the Basque areas of the department.

A " pays" by the known as the " loi Pasqua " law of 1995, is a regional development organization below the Department level and in addition to the traditional division into arrondissements and cantons.

Personalities from the French Basque country

• Michèle Alliot- Marie, first French defense and foreign minister ( resignation February 27, 2011 ), the last chairman of the RPR, six- members of the 6th constituency of Pyr. - Atl. (up deselection 2012)
• André Béhotéguy, French rugby union player
• Jean Borotra, French tennis player and politician
• Antoine Thomson d' Abbadie, French explorer
• Armand David, a French naturalist
• Didier Deschamps, French footballer
• Pierre Etchebaster, French real tennis champion
• Roger Etchegaray, French Cardinal
• Bernard Etxepare, Navarrese writer
• Léopold Eyharts, French spaceman
• Imanol Harinordoquy, French rugby union player
• Bixente Lizarazu, French footballer
• Maurice Ravel, French composer