The consultation on a new name for the Eastern Pyrenees department in southern France, known by Catalanists as Northern Catalonia, closed on Saturday 15 August. Results are due on 28 August, with voters choosing between Catalan Pyrenees, retaining Eastern Pyrenees, or Mediterranean Pyrenees.

For residents, the result could determine the public name used by the departmental council, the local authority broadly equivalent to a provincial council. Departmental sources cited by Diari ARA put participation at about 10% of the electorate, or around 35,000 votes, before definitive figures are published.

Northern Catalonia refers to the historic Catalan territories of Roussillon and part of Cerdanya, which passed to the French Crown under the 1659 Treaty of the Pyrenees. The French revolutionary administration created the Eastern Pyrenees department in 1790.

Catalanist groups back Catalan Pyrenees

The consultation began on 22 June. The departmental council excluded the option Catalan Country after judging that France's Council of State, the country's highest administrative court, would reject it.

Jaume Pol, a departmental councillor for Unitat Catalana, told Diari ARA that civic groups supporting Catalan identity largely favoured Catalan Pyrenees.

“There is almost unanimity in Catalan civic circles in defending the Catalan Pyrenees option.”

Nicolas Garcia, vice-president of the departmental council and former mayor of Elna, said a one-vote victory would be sufficient in the consultation. He said the Catalan Pyrenees name could strengthen the territory's legal recognition of Catalan identity and provide an economic benefit.

Gautier Sabrià, the local representative of language-rights organisation Plataforma per la Llengua, said holding the vote during summer had limited participation. He said a victory for Catalan Pyrenees would give Catalan language and culture greater public visibility.

Opposition centres on costs and alternative branding

Perpignan mayor Louis Aliot opposes changing the name, according to Diari ARA. The hospitality sector and the Chamber of Commerce have supported Mediterranean Pyrenees instead.

  • Catalan Pyrenees: supported by several Catalanist and cultural groups.
  • Eastern Pyrenees: the current French departmental name.
  • Mediterranean Pyrenees: backed by business representatives cited by Diari ARA.

Activist Pere Manzanares said some residents identify with the existing Eastern Pyrenees name and others were concerned about the costs of a change. The final participation total is expected to be published before the result on 28 August.

Reported by en.ara.cat, Diari ARA.

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