Andorra

I spent a week in minuscule Andorra and its immediate environment. The country is of an outstanding and enchanting natural beauty, but except for mountain hiking and skiing, there is almost nothing to be done or seen.
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The principality has a surface of some 468 km2, consists of three valleys and has two co-princes : the bishop of La Seu d'Urgell in Spain and the president of the French republic (as a successor to the comte de Foix). The co-princes met for the last time in 1978 ; at that moment in time they had not met for 800 years (in 1278 to be exact). The official language is Catalan but most inhabitants speak Spanish and French too. Most of the work force is foreign and conditions to become Andorran are extremely severe.
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Although the principality has not known war since 1277, its architectural heritage is almost non existant except for its treasure trove of magnificent roman churches and chapels.
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Andorra has but one main road which links it to France and Spain. The pass separating it from France is the highest one in the Pyrenees at over 2400 meters. It is kept open all year through. From that point it is all down hill to the Spanish border at a height of some 840 meter. The total length of the road, from border to border, is about 35 km.
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Andorra has left the middle ages fairly recently : up to the second world war, people in the isolated mountain valleys lived very much as they did hundreds of years before. In the last decades, economic evolution has been extremely fast : it is based on tourism mainly and on the fact that Andorra is considered a fiscal paradise by some.
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Andorrans appear to be very proud of their principality, which has been recognised by the UN in 1993 only (it never was a real democracy). Andorra still is not a member of the EU ; may be that is the only positive point in its present status.
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The principality now is firmly in the claws of ultra liberal market forces ; it social laws and security are absolutely minimal. The system always was and remains very unjust as all its taxes were and are indirect and thus weigh much more heavily on its poorer inhabitants than on its rich ones.
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But many Andorrans shot from utter poverty less than a century ago to wealth. One of the signs is the building activity one sees everywhere and which is rapidly ruining the character of the seven parishes and of the valleys. People who haven't been in Andorra for twenty years simply do not recognise the region any more.
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I am glad I visited the principality, but I do not have the slightest urge to visit it again.
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By the way we were told that last winter was extremely severe and long with abundant snow : many ski stations were open until early May.
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For more information, see : http://www.andorra.be/.

1 comment:

marx said...

Indirect taxes - redistribution from the poor to the rich ...