Lost In France

Bet you didn’t realise that Balearic president, Francesc Antich, yesterday also became a “European” president: you wouldn’t be alone. Antich has assumed the presidency of the so-called “Eurorregion”, a political grouping that obscure that many here couldn’t tell you what it was. To explain: the Eurorregion comprises parts of south-eastern France, north-eastern Spain and the Balearics. Its general objective is to defend the interests of the regions within the European Union: it met yesterday in Toulouse. This may well be its objective, but in truth what on Earth is the point of it? I am not alone in wondering. The president of one of the participating regions, Languedoc-Roussillon in France, reckons that the group signifies nothing and that unless something positive happens over the next twelve months it will drop out, joining Aragon which has already taken its bat home following a disagreement with Catalonia. This particular “Eurorregion” is just one of many across Europe. As established by the Council of Europe, they are meant not to have political power.

Antich, according to “Ultima Hora”, wants the Eurorregion to become an area of co-operation with its own legal status to lobby for EU grants. But, other than neighbourliness, what common ground is there within this group? It is not a Catalan-speaking coalition, even though there are some Catalan speakers in southern France. Were it so, with the politico-linguistic overtones that would have, then one could see some logic, but – at the political level – the Balearics have their own beef with Catalonia over the latter’s drive for greater autonomy which could see less money from rich Catalonia entering the Spanish pot for divvying up to other parts, e.g. the Balearics. Moreover, there are already collective groupings for these regions – they are known as France and Spain – which compete for Brussels money. The Balearics make up an autonomous region of Spain with representatives in Madrid for the precise purpose of securing adequate funding, be it national or European. What can a cross-national grouping of neighbours hope to achieve in terms of climbing the Brussels cash mountain that a national government cannot? There is some reference to tourism, but again where is the common ground? It might be remembered that the tourist centres of the Languedoc, such as Cap d’Agde, were created partly because the French were hacked off with Germans and others driving past them into Spain.

Some of the euro regions have a logic. The Benelux grouping is one with a history, the one that joins Kent to France and Belgium via the Channel Tunnel has a clear rationale. But the Balearics one? The whole thing smacks of being little more than a talking-shop, an opportunity for local politicians to play on an international stage, albeit one stripped of lighting, curtains, a coherent plot and with an empty auditorium. Sorry, I don’t get it, nor it seems does the president of Languedoc-Roussillon.


Still in France. Another tourism/travel fair. In Cannes. This is unashamedly pitched at the luxury-tourism market, its name International Luxury Travel: you can’t get much clearer than that. Thirteen Mallorcan businesses, mainly top-notch hotels, have joined the Mallorca council’s stand at the fair. Unlike the often misleading term quality tourism, luxury tourism is unequivocal: it stands for money and lots of it. The council is right to promote the luxurious nature of some of the island’s hotels. Here it is on firm ground. Where it is less so is on the cultural and gastronomic delights to support such luxury tourism. Which is not to deny these exist, just – as I have said before – they are largely hidden and do not enjoy a strong perception in the global tourist market. But, they are pushing the boat out at Cannes, so good luck to them.


QUIZ
Yesterday – Van Morrison, “And The Healing Has Begun”. Today’s title – song by?

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