Every six months Spain loses 1.6 acres of land to France but neither nation fires a shot, because six months later France gives the land back again.
That’s the bizarre reality of the territory known as Pheasant Island, a small uninhabited piece of land in the middle of the Bidasoa River, a waterway which makes up the border between a corner of northeastern Spain and southwestern France.
The island was the site of a prestigious meeting on November 7, 1659, between Louis XIV of France and Philip IV of Spain. The royals chose the location to sign the Treaty of the Pyrenees which ended years of war between the two nations.
As part of the negotiations, the island was designated a condominium, meaning a political territory over which multiple sovereign powers formally agreed to share equal rights.
The small river landmass, also known as Conference Island, has gone on to host most more meetings between rulers of France and Spain and to this day it remains under joint ownership of the two countries.
To deal with the political reality of sharing the same piece of land, France and Spain agreed to control the island for six months of the year each.
The closest French town to the island is Hendaye with around 17,000 residents and on the banks of the river estuary sits the Spanish town of Hondarribia, which also boasts a similar number of people.
Despite being in separate countries, both towns are part of the historical Basque region which encompasses people from both France and Spain who identify with Basque culture and heritage.
The stewardship of the world’s smallest condominium changes when Spain takes control on February 1 and oversees the island until July 31.
As of this week, the island became French once more and will remain so until next year.
Modern relations between the two countries are much better than when the treaty was signed all those years ago on Pheasant Island to end the bloody Franco-Spanish War fought from 1635 to 1659.
During the conflict, it’s estimated at least 200,000 people died on the French side, although estimates for Spanish casualties are not available.
Neither country came out of the war overly successful, with France gaining a small amount of territory and Spain losing much of its strength on the world stage.
