Franco-Spanish Relations - 1945-1975

1945-1975

With the restoration of the French government in the latter part of the Second World War, relations between Spain and France became more complex. Exiled Spanish Communists had infiltrated northern Spain from France via the Val d'Aran but were repelled by Franco's army and police forces. The border between the two countries was temporarily closed by the French in June 1945. It was closed indefinitely on March 1, 1946, following the execution of the Communist guerilla Cristino García in Spain. The Franco government criticized the action, commenting that many refugees from France had used the same border to escape to safety in Spain during the war. Several days after the border closing, France issued a diplomatic note along with the United States and Britain calling for the formation of a new provisional government in Madrid.

Additionally, Spain's formerly close relationship with Italy and Nazi Germany led to suspicion and accusations. Some Nazis and French collaborators fled to Francoist Spain at or following the end of the war, most notably Pierre Laval, who was turned over to the Allies in July 1945. One French report claimed that 100,000 Nazis and collaborators were sheltered in Spain; the Soviet Union declared there were 200,000 Nazis in the country and that Franco was manufacturing nuclear weapons and intended to invade France in 1946.

With the advent of the Cold War, relations gradually improved. The Pyrenean border was re-opened again in February 1948. Several months later France (along with Britain) signed a commercial agreement with the Franco government. Relations further improved in 1950 when the French government, concerned about international subversion, forced the Spanish Communist Party to leave France.

Franco-Spanish relations improved further with the founding of the French Fifth Republic in 1958. Despite the rebel French general Raoul Salan finding sanctuary among Falangists in Spain for six months in 1960-61, the French finance minister visited Madrid in April 1963 to conclude a new commercial treaty.