Perthus-La Jonquera Border Controls

The dismantling of the police booths on the A9 motorway took place in October 2010, bringing an end to the physical border between France and Spain.France retained an administrative, police and customs presence around Perthus-La Jonquera.

The abolition of the borders took place on Le Perthus/La Jonquera border after threats by the EU to impose fines of over 10 million euros if the booths were not dismantled, as part of the Schengen agreement of 1995, which decreed internal borders were to be abolished and EU members would have ’ free movement of persons’. Some members (the United Kingdom and Ireland) opted not to fully participate in the Schengen system at the time, but France and Spain were not amongst these.

The initiative made an enormous difference to the heavy summer traffic bottlenecks at both motorway and Le Perthus borders, as the Catalan frontier was heavily manned by both French and Spanish police on a regular basis, and believed to be the most controlled border in the EU!

With increased terrorisme threats, heavy security can once again be expected at the France/Spain border, with tighter checks on all travellers, including European nationals. Expect passports checks and verification of personal information with police databases.