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75-538: La Franja is usually considered to be comprised by a part of the municipalities of the following Aragonese administrative comarcas : la Ribagorza/Ribagorça , La Litera/La Llitera , Bajo Cinca/Baix Cinca , Bajo Aragón-Caspe/Baix Aragó-Casp , Bajo Aragón/Baix Aragó and Matarraña/Matarranya . La Franja has been part of Aragon since the medieval kingdom of Aragon ; never in its history has it been part of Catalonia; however its population speaks in Catalan, presumably since

150-511: A CDC councillor in Perpignan , has said that his party favoured closer trade and transport relationships with Catalonia, and that he believed Catalan independence would improve the prospects of that happening, but that secession from France was "not on the agenda". When Catalans took to the streets in 2016 under the banner of " Oui au Pays catalan " ("Yes to the Catalan Country") to protest

225-624: A pan-nationalist project to unite the Catalan-speaking territories of Spain and France, often in the context of the independence movement in Catalonia , but it is also simply a project for cultural unity, so that the linguistic area can have barriers to communication and interchange removed. The marginal political project of independence under Catalonia does not currently enjoy wide support, particularly outside Catalonia, where some sectors view it as an expression of pancatalanism. Linguistic unity

300-757: A "federation" between the Valencian Community, the Balearic Islands and Catalonia. They are to campaign for an amendment to article 145 of the Spanish constitution , which forbids federation of autonomous communities. The territories concerned may also include Roussillon and La Franja . Many in Spain see the concept of the Països Catalans as regional exceptionalism, counterpoised to a centralizing Spanish and French national identity . Others see it as an attempt by

375-553: A Catalonia-proper-centered nationalism to lay a hegemonic claim to Valencia, the Balearic Islands or Roussillon, where the prevailing feeling is that they have their own respective historical personalities, not necessarily related to Catalonia's. The Catalan author and journalist Valentí Puig described the term as "inconvenient", saying it has generated more reactions against it than adhesions. The concept has connotations that have been perceived as problematic and controversial when establishing relations between Catalonia and other areas of

450-842: A divisive issue during the Spanish Transition period, most acrimoniously in Valencia during the 1980s. Modern linguistic and cultural projects include the Institut Ramon Llull and the Fundació Ramon Llull , which are run by the governments of the Balearic Islands, Catalonia and Andorra, the Department Council of the Pyrénées-Orientales, the city council of Alghero and the Network of Valencian Cities. Politically, it involves

525-555: A fundamentally linguistic construct. In many parts of the territories designated by some as Països Catalans , Catalan nationalist sentiment is uncommon. For example, in the Valencian Community 's case, the Esquerra Republicana del País Valencià (ERPV) is the most relevant party explicitly supportive of the idea but its representation is limited to a total of four local councilors elected in three municipalities (out of

600-540: A language of the department. In 2009, the Catalan language was declared llengua pròpia (with the Aragonese language ) of Aragon . There are several endeavors and collaborations amongst some of the diverse government and cultural institutions involved. One such case is the Ramon Llull Institute (IRL), founded in 2002 by the government of the Balearic Islands and the government of Catalonia . Its main objective

675-692: A linguistic term, Països Catalans is used in a similar fashion to the English Anglosphere , the French Francophonie , the Portuguese Lusofonia or the Spanish Hispanophone territories. However, it is not universally accepted, even as a linguistic concept, in the territories it purports to unite. As a political term, it refers to a number of political projects as advocated by supporters of Catalan independence . These, based on

750-499: A majority of the population in this region considered Valencian to be a different language to Catalan. This position is especially supported by people who do not use Valencian regularly. Furthermore, the data indicate that younger people educated in Valencian are much less likely to hold these views. According to an official poll in 2014, 52% of Valencians considered Valencian to be a language different from Catalan, while 41% considered

825-529: A national-political unity, as in the case of the Bloc Nacionalista Valencià. The Valencian Nationalist Bloc ( Valencian : Bloc Nacionalista Valencià, Bloc or BNV ; IPA: [ˈblɔɡ nasionaˈlista valensiˈa] ) is the largest Valencian nationalist party in the Valencian Country , Spain. The Bloc's main aim is, as stated in their guidelines, "to achieve full national sovereignty for

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900-519: A number of alternative names for it, even in the Language Act of Aragon of 2013 . The use of a term to refer to the eastern area of Aragon bordering Catalonia as based on linguistic criteria is recent. It was in 1929—when he christened these as Marques de Ponent , "Western Marches "—that Catalan geographer Pau Vila used for the first time a term designating jointly the Aragonese area where Catalan

975-456: A parte como municipios pertenecientes a un área de transición lingüística. The political significance of La Franja goes hand in hand with the Catalan nationalist political movement , which considers this part of Aragon (and even all other Catalan-speaking territories) to be part of the Catalan nation, because of its language. This new interpretation as part of the political connotation ascribed to

1050-454: A prior declaration by the Catalan regional Parliament which included reference to the term in question. In the declaration of the Balearic islands parliament, it was stated that the so-called " Països Catalans do not exist and the Balearic islands do not take part in any 'Catalan country' whatsoever". In August 2018, the ex-mayor of Alghero , Carlo Sechi, defined algherese identity as part of

1125-517: A result of the opposition of these Aragonese parishes to a short-lived debate on the convenience of creating a distinct Catalan Episcopal Conference , which would have been detached from the Spanish one. Other sources claim that the diocese of Barbastro—birthplace of the founder of Opus Dei , Josepmaria Escrivà de Balaguer —was losing population and needed to acquire neighbouring parishes from another diocese to be able to continue to exist. The transfer of

1200-403: A total of 5,622 local councilors elected in the 542 Valencian municipalities). At the regional level, it has run twice ( 2003 and 2007 ) to the regional Parliament election, receiving less than 0.50% of the total votes. In all, its role in Valencian politics is currently marginal. There are other parties which sporadically use this term in its cultural or linguistical sense, not prioritizing

1275-418: Is Graus , although the historical capital of the county was at Benabarre . The Ribagorçan dialect is a transitional Aragonese – Catalan dialect spoken in the western part of the comarca . Municipalities in the eastern part, bordering Catalonia, are part of La Franja , a geolinguistic area, where the local language is a variety of Catalan. However, Aragonese and Catalan form a dialect continuum here and

1350-561: Is around 10% of the total votes. Reversely, the Popular Party –which is a staunch opponent of whatever political implications for the Països Catalans concept– is the majority party in Valencia and the Balearic islands. Even though the topic has been largely absent from the political agenda as of late, in December 2013 the regional Parliament of the Balearic islands passed an official declaration in defence of its autonomy and in response to

1425-518: Is especially reflected in editions of the local Lleida press for example La Mañana-Franja de Ponent and also of Aragon as shown by the digital publication Franja Digital . Ribagorza (comarca) Ribagorza ( Spanish: [riβaˈɣoɾθa] , Aragonese: [ɾiβaˈɣoɾθa] ) or Ribagorça ( Western Catalan: [riβaˈɣɔɾsa] ; French : Ribagorce ) is a comarca (administrative subdivision) in Aragon , Spain , situated in

1500-450: Is known as the conflicto del patrimonio eclesiástico de la Franja (the conflict of the ecclesiastical heritage of the Franja) or del Aragón Oriental (of Eastern Aragon), and though it began as a local debate, it has become a national press story, especially due to the confrontation between the political forces of Aragon and Catalonia . On July 1, 2008 an agreement between the two dioceses

1575-469: Is often used as a sociolinguistic term to describe the cultural-linguistic area where Catalan is spoken. In the context of Catalan nationalism , the term is sometimes used in a more restricted way to refer to just Catalonia, Valencia and the Balearic Islands. The Catalan Countries do not correspond to any present or past political or administrative unit, though most of the area belonged to the Crown of Aragon in

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1650-679: Is reversed according to the Gran Enciclopedia Aragonesa (GEA) with the Franja having an area of 5,370 km and with a population of 70,000 . It should be mentioned that the GEA does not recognise the denomination Franja but discusses its situation under Catalan in Aragon , nor does it specify in how many or which municipalities Catalan is definitively spoken nor the date of the census on which its figures are based. The Gran Geografia Comarcal of

1725-461: Is spoken. This term was maintained in the second half of the 20th century by Catalan linguists such as Joan Giraldo , along with other terms such as Marques d'Aragó (in Spanish, Marcas de Aragón , "Marches of Aragon"), Catalunya aragonesa (in Spanish, Cataluña aragonesa , "Aragonese Catalonia") or la ratlla d'Aragó (in Spanish, la raya de Aragón , "the Aragonese Strip"). Whichever term

1800-492: Is to promote the Catalan language and culture abroad in all its variants , as well as the works of writers, artists, scientists and researchers of the regions which are part of it. The Xarxa Vives d'Universitats (Vives Network of Universities), an association of universities of Catalonia, Valencia, the Balearic Islands, Northern Catalonia and Andorra founded in 1994, was incorporated into the IRL in 2008. Also in 2008, in order to extend

1875-569: Is used, they all refer to the eastern Catalan-speaking area of Aragon , which borders western Catalonia. These terms all originated in Catalonia but later became popular in La Franja itself. They are therefore Catalonia-centered and hence the Ponent ("Western") reference in the term La Franja del Ponent , because these areas lie to the west of Catalonia. The term Franja de Ponent itself first appeared in

1950-412: Is widely recognized, except for the followers of a political movement known as Blaverism , which understands Valencian as a different language. Països Catalans has different meanings depending on the context. These can be roughly classified in two groups: linguistic or political, the political definition of the concept being the widest, since it also encompasses the linguistic side of it. As

2025-704: The 2017 French legislative election , said that's its aim is a "territorial collectivity" within the French Republic on the same lines as Corsica . Every year, though, there are between 300 and 600 people in a demonstration to commemorate the 1659 Treaty of the Pyrenees , that separated Northern Catalonia from the South. The term Països Catalans was first documented in 1876 in Historia del Derecho en Cataluña, Mallorca y Valencia. Código de las Costumbres de Tortosa, I (History of

2100-614: The Catalan Countries emerged throughout the 20th century—and especially after the 1960s—encouraged in the main part by the Valencian Joan Fuster . Pan-Catalanism demands the creation of a nation-state for the Catalan Countries in which the cultural unity is based on the Catalan linguistic community. In the Franja itself, there has never been a political movement promoting union with Catalonia or separation from Aragon. On

2175-464: The Catalan culture whilst politically defining Alghero as part of the Sardinian nation. The Spanish Constitution of 1978 contains a clause forbidding the formation of federations amongst autonomous communities . Therefore, if it were the case that the Països Catalans idea gained a majority democratic support in future elections, a constitutional amendment would still be needed for those parts of

2250-635: The Catalan language is spoken. They include the Spanish regions of Catalonia , the Balearic Islands , Valencian Community , and parts of Aragon ( La Franja ) and Murcia ( Carche ), as well as the Principality of Andorra , the department of Pyrénées-Orientales (aka Northern Catalonia , including Cerdagne , Roussillon , and Vallespir ) in France, and the city of Alghero in Sardinia (Italy). It

2325-655: The Catalan language , known as Institut d'Estudis Catalans , adopted Franja d'Aragó ("Aragonese Strip") as the denomination for the Catalan-speaking territories of Aragon for academic and linguistic purposes, while the denomination Franja de Ponent ("Western Strip") is used mainly in the political arena by some associations, groups and political parties associated with pancatalanism . Later on, alternative denominations such as Aragón Oriental (in Catalan, Aragó Oriental ), Franja Oriental or Franja de Levante (in Catalan, Franja de Llevant ), all meaning roughly Eastern Aragon or Eastern Strip were created in Aragon . While

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2400-666: The Generalitat of Catalonia ) This despite the fact that it is not an official language and has a very limited presence in education (where it is only available as an elective) and in administration and or public acts, resulting in severe deficiencies in writing skills of this language. The exact territorial limits of the Franja de Aragón differ depending on the source, since there are some municipalities of Ribagorza where there are doubts over whether or not to include them as Catalan-speaking or as Aragonese-speaking. The proportion of speakers of

2475-824: The Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana (GREC) Archived 2016-05-15 at the Portuguese Web Archive classes the territorial area of the Franja de Aragon as larger than that defined by the Commission report although not as large as the GEA definition. All the municipalities which it adds to those of the Avant-project and of Ribagorza and therefore belong to the Province of Huesca. It adds a total of eight municipalities and three population nuclei; Güell, Laguarres y Torres del Obispo, which form part of two municipalities; Graus in

2550-594: The Països Catalans lying in Spain to create a common legal representative body, even though in the addenda to the Constitution there is a clause allowing an exception to this rule in the case of Navarre , which can join the Basque Country should the people choose to do so. Catalans in the French territory of Northern Catalonia , although proud of their language and culture, are not committed to independence. Jordi Vera,

2625-510: The Valencian people , and make it legally declared by a Valencian sovereign Constitution allowing the possibility of association with the countries which share the same language, history and culture". Since 2011, they are part of the Coalició Compromís coalition, which won six seats in the 2011 Valencian regional elections and 19 in the 2015 elections , becoming the third largest party in

2700-531: The Vatican itself urged the return of the pieces to Aragon, to no avail. The Catalan language is spoken by a significant proportion of the population of La Franja (47.1% of the population uses it as their usual language according to a survey by the Aragonese Institute of Statistics in 2013; percentage that rises to 73.6%-90% according to two surveys carried out with a smaller territorial scope also in 2013 by

2775-409: The regional parliament . Some of the most vocal defenders or promoters of the "Catalan Countries" concept (such as Joan Fuster , Josep Guia or Vicent Partal ) were Valencian. The subject became very controversial during the politically agitated Spanish Transition in what was to become the Valencian Community, especially in and around the city of Valencia . In the late 1970s and early 1980s, as

2850-583: The transition , and, simultaneously, it was also the creation of some original and small local groups –which were often joined by those CCL members– which emerged in La Litera in defense of the cultural-linguistic identity of the comarca . At the Second International Congress of the Catalan Language ( Segon Congrés Internacional de la Llengua Catalana ) held in 1985, the normative authority on

2925-639: The Balearic Islands and the Valencian Community—with the denomination of Valencian in the latter—and co-official with Italian in the city of Alghero. It is also part of the recognized minority languages of Italy along with Sardinian , also spoken in Alghero. It is not official in Aragon, Murcia or the Pyrénées-Orientales, even though on 10 December 2007 the General Council of the Pyrénées-Orientales officially recognized Catalan, along with French, as

3000-531: The Balearic islands (collectively the "Llull Federation"), advocate independence as well as the promotion of Catalan language and culture. The political projects that centre on the Catalan Countries have been described as a "hypothetical and future union" of the various territories. In many cases it involves the Spanish autonomous communities of Catalonia, Valencia and the Balearics. The 2016 electoral programme of Valencian parties Compromís and Podemos spoke of

3075-520: The Barbastro-Monzón diocese. The Lleida diocese released a statement accepting this decision but, at the same time, announced that then the administrative process would be opened, later on, it stated that talks should be opened to reach an agreement, in the end effectively protracting the end of the dispute. In the meantime, the works of art remain located in the Diocese Museum of Lleida. The lawsuit

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3150-642: The Catalan affiliation of the language According to the list of municipalities which could be considered to be areas of predominant use of its own language or linguistic modality or areas of predominant use of normalised Catalan in the Second annex of the Second Final Disposition of the Avant-project of the Language Law , La Franja would be composed of: From the point of view of the Institut d'Estudis Catalans

3225-466: The Catalan linguistic domain. It has been characterised as a "phantom reality" and an "unreal and fanciful space". The pro-Catalan independence author Germà Bel called it an "inappropriate and unfortunate expression lacking any historic, political or social basis", while Xosé Manoel Núñez Seixas spoke of the difficulties in uniting a historicist concept linked to common membership of the Crown of Aragon with

3300-498: The French government's decision to combine Languedoc-Roussillon , the region which contained Northern Catalonia, with Midi-Pyrénées to create a new region to be called Occitanie , the French magazine Le Point said that the movement was "completely unrelated to the situation on the other side of the border", and that it was "more directed against Toulouse [the chief city of Occitanie ] than against Paris or for Barcelona." Oui au Pays catalan , which stood in

3375-706: The Law in Catalonia, Majorca and Valencia. Code of the Customs of Tortosa, I) written by the Valencian Law historian Benvingut Oliver i Esteller. The term was both challenged and reinforced by the use of the term "Occitan Countries" from the Oficina de Relacions Meridionals (Office of Southern Relations) in Barcelona by 1933. Another proposal which enjoyed some popularity during the Renaixença

3450-507: The Middle Ages. Parts of Valencia (Spanish) and Catalonia ( Occitan ) are not Catalan-speaking. The "Catalan Countries" have been at the centre of both cultural and political projects since the late 19th century. Its mainly cultural dimension became increasingly politically charged by the late 1960s and early 1970s, as Francoism began to die out in Spain, and what had been a cultural term restricted to connoisseurs of Catalan philology became

3525-417: The Middle Ages; consequently this territory is considered a part of the so-called Catalan Countries . Among the territories where Catalan is spoken (Catalonia, the Valencian Community, the Balearic Islands, Andorra and Roussillon, among some other little territories), La Franja is currently the one where oral knowledge of Catalan is the most universal; this is due to low immigration to the area compared to

3600-644: The Network of Valencian Cities (an association of a few Valencian city councils) joined the FRL as well. In December 2012 the government of the Balearic islands, dominated by the conservative and pro-Spain Partido Popular (PP), announced that the representatives of the Balearic islands were withdrawing from the Llull institute. A number of cultural organizations, specifically Òmnium Cultural in Catalonia, Acció Cultural del País Valencià in Valencia, and Obra Cultural Balear in

3675-540: The Spanish Autonomous Communities system took shape, the controversy reached its height. Various Valencian right-wing politicians (originally from Unión de Centro Democrático ) fearing what was seen as an annexation attempt from Catalonia, fueled a violent Anti-Catalanist campaign against local supporters of the concept of the Països Catalans , which even included a handful of unsuccessful attacks with explosives against authors perceived as flagships of

3750-477: The Spanish newspaper ABC reported that the Catalan government of Artur Mas had spent millions of euros to promote Catalanism in Valencia over the previous three years. As for the other territories, there are no political parties even mentioning the Països Catalans as a public issue neither in Andorra, nor in la Franja , Carche or Alghero. In the Balearic islands, support for parties related to Catalan nationalism

3825-743: The Valencians , published in 1962) a new political interpretation of the concept was introduced; from the original, meaning roughly Catalan-speaking territories , Fuster developed a political inference closely associated to Catalan nationalism . This new approach would refer to the Catalan Countries as a more or less unitary nation with a shared culture which had been divided by the course of history, but which should logically be politically reunited. Fuster's preference for Països Catalans gained popularity, and previous unsuccessful proposals such as Comunitat Catalànica ( Catalanic Community ) or Bacàvia (after Balearics-Catalonia-Valencia) diminished in use. Today,

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3900-450: The basis for the Draft of the Language Law of Aragon Archived 2007-04-23 at the Wayback Machine published the following session (1999–2003) under the PSOE - PAR coalition, where for the first time from the Cortes de Aragón would detail those municipalities which formed part of a Catalan-speaking community, with the aim of recognising co-officiality and encouraging the use of Catalan in public life and especially in education. The law

3975-417: The case of the first and the third, and Capella the case of the second. The table to the right details the population nuclei and official area and population figures. There is no unitary policy on official toponymy in the Franja, leading to great variations between the local comarcalización laws as compared to those proposed by the IEC. The following table details the translation of the toponymy in Spanish to

4050-428: The collaboration to institutions from all across the "Catalan Countries", the IRL and the government of Andorra (which formerly had enjoyed occasional collaboration, most notably in the Frankfurt Book Fair of 2007) created the Ramon Llull Foundation (FRL), an international cultural institution with the same goals as the IRL. In 2009, the General Council of the Pyrénées-Orientales , the city council of Alghero and

4125-505: The concept, such as Joan Fuster or Manuel Sanchis i Guarner . The concept's revival during this period was behind the formation of the fiercely opposed and staunch anti-Catalan blaverist movement, led by Unió Valenciana , which, in turn, significantly diminished during the 1990s and the 2000s as the Països Catalans controversy slowly disappeared from the Valencian political arena. This confrontation between politicians from Catalonia and Valencia very much diminished in severity during

4200-576: The course of the late 1980s and, especially, the 1990s as the Valencian Community's regional government became consolidated. Since then, the topic has lost most of its controversial potential, even though occasional clashes may appear from time to time, such as controversies regarding the broadcasting of Catalan television in Valencia— and vice versa —or the usage by Catalan official institutions of terms which are perceived in Valencia as Catalan nationalistic, such as Països Catalans or País Valencià ( Valencian Country ). A 2004 poll in Valencia found that

4275-401: The decision of the Holy See to align the diocesan boundaries with the political and historical ones. This meant that 111 parishes and a population of 68,089 were transferred from the Diocese of Lleida to the enlarged Diocese of Barbastro, whose name was then changed to Diocese of Barbastro-Monzón As for the reasons of the transfer, some Catalan ecclesiastical ranks considered that it was

4350-417: The geographical limit of both languages cannot be drawn in a clear-cut manner. The Catalan version of the names of the towns are in brackets. 42°27′N 00°32′E  /  42.450°N 0.533°E  / 42.450; 0.533 Pa%C3%AFsos Catalans The Catalan Countries ( Catalan : Països Catalans , Eastern Catalan: [pəˈizus kətəˈlans] ) are those territories where

4425-402: The languages to be the same. This poll showed significant differences regarding age and level of education, with a majority of those aged 18–24 (51%) and those with a higher education (58%) considering Valencian to be the same language as Catalan. This can be compared to those aged 65 and above (29%) and those with only primary education (32%), where the same view has its lowest support. In 2015,

4500-430: The linguistic fact, argue for the existence of a common national identity that would surpass the limits of each territory covered by this concept and would apply also to the remaining ones. These movements advocate for "political collaboration" amongst these territories. This often stands for their union and political independence. As a consequence of the opposition these political projects have received –notably in some of

4575-454: The north-east of the province of Huesca . It borders the French département of the Haute-Garonne to the north and Catalonia (the comarques of Val d'Aran , Alta Ribagorça , Pallars Jussà , and Noguera ) to the east. Within Aragon its neighboring comarcas are Sobrarbe , Somontano de Barbastro , and La Litera . It roughly corresponds to the Aragonese part of the medieval County of Ribagorza . The administrative capital of Ribagorza

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4650-1201: The official version in the local vernacular and that proposed by the IEC. At the bottom are the municipalities which the GREC includes in its definition of the Franja and the proposed names which it offers opposed to the official names: Boletín Oficial de Aragón (BOA): Ley 10/2002, de 03 de mayo, de creación de la comarca del Bajo Aragón / Ley 12/2003, de 24 de marzo, de creación de la comarca del Bajo Aragón-Caspe / Ley 20/2002, de 07 de octubre, de creación de la comarca del Bajo Cinca / Ley 25/2002, de 12 de noviembre, de creación de la comarca de La Litera / Ley 07/2002, de 15 de abril, de creación de la comarca del Matarraña / Ley 12/2002, de 28 de mayo, de creación de la comarca de la Ribagorza. Lista de denominaciones en catalán aprobada por la Sección Filológica del IEC en reunión del día 15 de diciembre de de 1995, en la reunión de la Sección Filológica de 15 de enero de 1999 se decidió incluir en la lista el topónimo "Vensilló" al ser un municipio de nueva creación. En la primera reunión los municipios de Azanuy-Alins, Isábena, Lascuarre y San Esteban de Litera se excluyeron de la lista oficial de municipios de lengua catalana de la Franja de Aragón, listándose

4725-467: The other hand, Catalan political parties do not participate in municipal or regional elections in the area. The socioeconomic meaning of the Franja relates to the economic region surrounding the Catalan city of Lleida , which encompasses Catalan-speaking Huescan and Zaragozan municipalities and excludes those in the region of Teruel and includes Spanish-speaking municipalities such as Alcolea de Cinca , Binéfar , and Monzón .The area of influence of Lleida

4800-442: The other ones. Roughly 80% of adults can speak Catalan. In all of Aragon there are 55,513 speakers of Catalan, according to census data. The thin strip of land is very diverse geographically, ranging from valleys in the Pyrenees to the flat lands by the Ebro ; all are included under this umbrella term. La Franja does not have any official political recognition within Aragon, nor is it a separate historical entity in and of itself;

4875-408: The parishes, specifically the ownership of the medieval artistic objects or sacred art comprised, originated an intricate series of lawsuits involving both dioceses (Barbastro-Monzón and Lleida), both autonomous governments (Aragón and Catalonia) and both legal systems canon and administrative law . It was finally decided by the ecclesiastic canon judges in 2005 that the 113 works of art belong to

4950-409: The second half of the 1970s, during the Spanish transition to democracy : the name in question is the collective creation of a group of Catalan-speaking Aragonese and Catalans from the Principality (Catalonia), interested in the fact that a part of Aragon is Catalan-speaking, who used to meet some Saturday evenings at the Centro Comarcal Leridano (CCL) premises in Barcelona during the first years of

5025-461: The term is politically charged, and tends to be closely associated with Catalan nationalism and supporters of Catalan independence . The idea of uniting these territories in an independent state is supported by a number of political parties, ERC being the most important in terms of representation (32 members in the Parliament of Catalonia ) and CUP (10 members). ERPV , PSAN (currently integrated in SI ), Estat Català also support this idea to

5100-429: The term was created to designate a linguistic area, there are other issues in question: Many parishes of what is now called la Franja had been historically part of the Diocese of Lleida , along with other, non-Catalan-speaking Aragonese towns. In 1995, Catholic church authorities, through the Papal Nuncio to Spain, informed the president of the Spanish Episcopal Conference – Archbishop of Saragossa , Elías Yanes – of

5175-507: The territories described by this concept – some cultural institutions avoid the usage of Països Catalans in some contexts, as a means to prevent any political interpretation; in these cases, equivalent expressions (such as Catalan-speaking countries ) or others (such as the linguistic domain of Catalan language ) are used instead. Catalan and its variants are spoken in: Catalan is the official language of Andorra, co-official with Spanish and Occitan in Catalonia, co-official with Spanish in

5250-399: The territories only have in common being administratively and historically Aragonese and linguistically Catalan. The term is mostly used in the neighbouring Catalonia, especially by Catalan nationalists , though it has lately become common in Aragon too. Some right-wing political forces in Aragon prefer not to use the word Catalan when speaking of the language of eastern Aragon, and have used

5325-401: The territory is smaller, due to the fact that the municipality of Torre la Ribera is not considered Catalan-speaking, and the municipalities of Azanuy-Alins, Isábena, Lascuarre and San Esteban de Litera are classified as transitional dialects. The Catalan-speaking lands are thus reduced to a total of 57 municipalities with an area of 4,137.2 km with a population of 45,984 . The situation

5400-628: The two languages varies over time and with immigration according to the municipality, something which leads to different sources drawing slightly different linguistic borders. During the fourth session of the Cortes de Aragón (the parliament of Aragon) (1995–1999) under the PP - PAR coalition government the Special Commission Report on the Language Policy of Aragon was published. The report would be

5475-469: Was "Pàtria llemosina" (Limousine Fatherland), proposed by Víctor Balaguer as a federation of Catalan-speaking provinces; both these coinages were based on the theory that Catalan is a dialect of Occitan . None of these names reached widespread cultural usage and the term nearly vanished until it was rediscovered, redefined and put in the center of the identity cultural debate by Valencian writer Joan Fuster . In his book Nosaltres, els valencians ( We,

5550-462: Was announced, again stating that the art pieces would return to the Barbastro-Monzón diocese. However, the situation remained stalled due to the continued refusal of the Catalan administration to issue an exit permit, something which eventually led to the Aragonese region president to open a criminal procedure in February 2009, thus effectively giving up on the resolved yet stalled civil procedure . Then

5625-511: Was never approved due to protests and petitions in Aragon opposed to the co-officiality of Catalan, promoted mainly by the Federación de Asociaciones Culturales del Aragón Oriental (FACAO), a conservative organisation which maintained that the local 'linguistic modalities' were languages and not dialects of Catalan, and there was lack of consensus on the issue among the Aragonese political parties. There are other civic associations staunchly rejecting

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