The various treaties signed to fix the border between the Kingdom of France and that of Spain contain mentions on the sharing of water. The question is important in Cerdanya since the water that falls and the snow that melts tumble down into streams and then torrents until it feeds the Segre, which shamelessly irrigates the foothills of the Pyrenees near Lerida, in Catalonia.
" READ ALSO Drought: the desertification of the Pyrénées-Orientales seen from the sky
Enough to irritate susceptibilities when the resource is exhausted as this year. This is what happened this spring when relations between the two sides became strained. For example, when French farmers were subject to 50% reductions in levies due to an enhanced drought alert, no such rule was in force on the other side of the border.
"It's a bit infuriating not to be able to water our crops, to have to leave the water in the river and to see that on the other side they dry up the waterways," says Christian Tallant, who raises cattle and sheep in Osséja.
Thunderstorms at the end of May relaxed the mood
"They were offered to switch to what is called summer time, which is a provision in the treaty that takes effect every year on July 1," says Jean-Pierre Maurell, a cattle farmer in Palau de Cerdanya, "but they refused." Under this watershed regime, the canals are closed on the French side three days a week, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The rest of the time, Spanish irrigators have only the right to pump the surplus left by French farmers.
Except that with the drought that has reigned since March 2022, there was no surplus this spring hence the tensions. If the storms at the end of May relaxed the atmosphere - "we still manage to get along with our colleagues," says Jean-Pierre Maurell - the problem of breeding remains intact in the sector.
There will be little hay this year, the reserves are dry, and who could say today if the summer pastures that will soon welcome the animals will be generous enough to hold the herds all summer. "If it continues like this, I would have to pay 200,000 euros to feed the animals hay," calculates Christian Tallant. "Needless to say, at this rate, it doesn't pass."
