 |
 he
economic history of North Catalonia began long before our contemporary
period. The numerous Catalan consulates in the Mediterranean
in the Middle Ages illustrate the influence of the Catalan economy,
overseen by Perpignan’s Loge de Mer. Catalan textiles, the Catalan
forges and shipbuilding knew their glory days and the country
was strong with its initiatives. But then the development and
the sharing of the region’s riches was weakened in the wake
of the French annexation of 1659. The northern part of the Iberian
Peninsula, the region transformed by France and injured by the
Industrial Revolution of the 19th Century, retained the strength
of its activities in the textile, sandal-making, agricultural
and fishing industries, all of which are now symbolic of the
area. The wines and spirits business continued to develop itself
up until the present day but the fishing and agriculture industries
experienced a crisis after World War II. Already affected by
a population and brain drain, North Catalonia then lost the
majority of its special industries in the 1980s (Nobel explosives
and Bella dolls) and began to favourise the tertiary sector:
administration, tourism and services adapted for retirees.
 |
The
TGV (fast train) from Perpinyàjjjj
to Barcelona, to be completedjjj
in 2009. |
In
the 21st Century the North Catalan economy is full of paradoxes;
the weakest GDP in France, unemployment close to 16%, assistance
for integration of immigrants, buying power is two times less
than the Paris region, unemployment assistance and growing precariousness
exists alongside a record presence of commercial areas, luxury
vehicles and people with large taxable fortunes. Local investment
is replaced by an income economy, goods production and consumption
remains a testimony. Only the construction sector conserves
its solidity with real estate inflation reaching its peak. However,
the connection of Perpignan and Barcelona by the new TGV fast
train in 2009, which will take 63 minutes, is a huge bonus for
the North Catalan economy and will bring together the production
driving forces of southern Europe. The trans-frontier union
in the new Euro-Catalan space is an essential change for the
future of the North Catalonian economy.
|
|
