Spain

Political relations

France and Spain enjoy an extremely close relationship of trust, driven by law enforcement and judicial cooperation which has helped to weaken ETA over the long term, and by concrete cooperation projects in interconnections (energy and transport), a field that is crucial for both countries. Our cooperation is also based on the desire for greater cooperation on the future of the European Union, given our closely converging views on European issues.

More than 370 agreements, treaties and bilateral conventions have been signed by our two countries, particularly since the signing of the Treaty of the Pyrenees by Louis XIV and Philip IV on 7 November 1659 on Pheasant Island, on the French-Spanish border, and right up to the “Treaty of Barcelona”, signed on 19 January 2023. This makes Spain one of the countries with which France has signed the most bilateral agreements.

On 19 January 2023, the date of the 27th Spanish-French Summit in Barcelona, the President of the French Republic Emmanuel Macron and the President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, signed a treaty of friendship and cooperation between France and Spain. This text enshrines the closeness and trust that characterize the relations between the two countries, as well as a shared European ambition. It sets forth a new phase in Franco-Spanish friendship.

Economic relations

Our trading relationship is very strong (€95.7 billion in goods and €16.3 billion in services in 2023), but France’s trade deficit with Spain grew, with the trend reversing in the context of the health crisis, remaining negative for the fourth year running in 2023 (€5.2 billion). In terms of goods, France is Spain’s leading customer, third-largest supplier and fourth-largest foreign investor (some €60 billion in foreign direct investment stock and 3,400 French subsidiaries that generate 352,600 jobs). In services, France is Spain’s second-largest customer and second-largest supplier. Spain is our fifth-largest customer (7.6% of our exports) and fifth-largest supplier (6.8% of our imports). Spanish foreign direct investment stock in France reached €55.5 billion in 2022. Spain is France’s eighth-largest investor (1,300 subsidiaries and 56,900 jobs). The intensity of these ties was highlighted at the fourth MEDEF-CEOE economic forum which took place on 27 and 28 November 2023 in Madrid.