Last modified: 2024-05-11 by olivier touzeau
Keywords: pyrénées-atlantiques |
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By decree of January 29, 1997, the prefect of Pyrénées-Atlantiques recognized “Basque Country” as a "pays" (country in the sens of region/area in the so-called Pasqua law of 1995), whose territory roughly overlaps the part of the department populated by Basques. In the 1990s and the beginning of the 2000s, the creation of a specific "Basque department", with its own institutions, such as a general council or a chamber of agriculture, became a central demand, which brought together the majority of elected officials, locals and socio-professionals.
In 2015, a debate on an intercommunality of the Basque Country was held. The French government has proposed several development scenarios that could lead to the creation of an intermunicipal structure that would finally provide the Basque Country in France with an institutional framework in 2017. The Basque Country urban community was created on 1 January 2017; it is the first time that the French Basque Country corresponds to an official territorial administrative structure in France. It is the fifth most populated agglomeration community in France and the first in terms of area and number of municipalities: 158 municipalities bring together 312,000 inhabitants over 2,968 km².
The Communauté d'agglomération du Pays Basque brings together the following ten pre-existing intermunicipal structures:
- agglomération Côte Basque-Adour (5 communes) ;
- agglomération Sud Pays Basque (12 communes) ;
- communauté de communes Errobi (11 communes) ;
- communauté de communes d'Amikuze (27 communes) ;
- communauté de communes du pays de Bidache (7 communes) ;
- communauté de communes de Garazi-Baigorri (30 communes) ;
- communauté de communes du pays d'Hasparren (11 communes) ;
- communauté de communes d'Iholdi-Ostibarre (13 communes) ;
- communauté de communes Nive-Adour (6 communes) ;
- communauté de communes de Soule-Xiberoa (36 communes).
The basque flag is widely in use and can be observed on many city halls in this area.
On the seat of the agglomeration community, the flags flown are: Basque Country, France, European Union, Gascony.
See photo (2021).
Olivier Touzeau, 4 June 2022
The Communauté d'agglomération Pau-Béarn-Pyrénées was created with the merger of Pau-Pyrénées with the Communauté de communes Gave et Coteaux and the Communauté de communes du Miey de Béarn.
The flag of Pau-Béarn-Pyrénées (photo) is white with the authority's emblem and name.
The logo, presented on 25 June 2018 and also used by the town of Pau, was designed by the
Graphéine agency; the team included a
graphic designer from Pau, graduated from the Pyrénées Higher School of
Art [a convenient rebuttal to the usual complaint that "foreigners"
instead of locals are commissioned to design logos].
The logo retains the silhouette of the Pic du Midi d'Ossau, used here as
the counter of letter "A".
[Sud-Ouest, 26 June 2018]
Olivier Touzeau & Ivan Sache, 18 May 2019
Former Communauté d'agglomération Pau-Pyrénées
![[Flag]](../images/f/fr-64-pp.gif)
Flag of Pau-Pyrénées - Image by Olivier Touzeau, 3 May 2019
Between 2011 and 2018, Pau and the Communauté d'agglomération Pau-Pyrénées used a white flag with the authority's emblem (photo).
The logo, designed by the Dragon Rouge agency, was presented on 7
January 2011.
The "quite unexpected" logotype features the three "P", the initials of
"Pau", "Porte" [Gate], and "Pyrénées", each in a different color
gradient. The letter's counters are composed of three different symbols
proper to the region:
- the crowned cow, featured on the coat of arms of Pau and Béarn, represents here the roots, wisdom and peace, placed on an ocher "P", a color recalling the region's history;
- the heart, as the symbol of a human and supportive project, on a green
"P", a "highly symbolic" color;
- the Pic du Midi d'Ossau [2,884 m], a former volcano locally nicknamed
"Jean-Pierre" [after its two peaks, two shepherds named Jean and Pierre,
respectively, who were petrified by a witch], as the symbol of the
Pyrénées identity of Pau, which is located less than 25 km from the
closest ski resort, on a blue "P", a color as symbolic as green.
The three "P" are designed in three different typefaces created from
scratch. The writing uses a typeface derived from Sauna.
[Graphéine, 13 January 2011]
Olivier Touzeau & Ivan Sache, 18 May 2019