Pheasant Island

Pheasant Island (French: Île des Faisans/Île de la Conférence, Spanish: Isla de los Faisanes, Basque: Konpantzia, Faisaien Uhartea Konferentziako Uhartea, Faisaien Irla) is an uninhabited river island located in the Bidasoa river, located between France and Spain, whose administration alternates between the two nations every six months.

There are no pheasants on the island. The name could be a misinterpretation of some French word related to "passing" or "toll". The "Conference" name could come from the international meetings held there.

The most important historical event to have taken place on the island was the signing of the Treaty of the Pyrenees. This was the climax to a series of 24 conferences held between Luis Méndez de Haro, a grandee of Spain, and Cardinal Mazarin, Chief Minister of France, in 1659 following the end of the Thirty Years' War. A monolith was built in the centre of the island to commemorate the meeting.

The island has also been used for several other royal meetings:

According to the terms of the Treaty of the Pyrenees, the island would remain a condominium.

The island is a condominium, (the world's smallest,) under joint sovereignty of Spain and France; for alternating periods of six months, it is officially under the governance of the naval commander of Hondarribia, Spain (1 February – 31 July) and of a French viceroy (1 August – 31 January).

Currently, the French position of "deputy director for the sea and coast of the Atlantic Pyrenees and Landes departments" carries the title of "viceroy of Pheasant Island", an unusual name in the French Republic. One of the French officers with this title was Julien Viaud, better known as the writer Pierre Loti. In practice, it is administered in turn by the mayors of Irun (in Gipuzkoa, Spain) and Hendaye (in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques, France).

As of January 2018^[update], the island was approximately 200 metres (660 ft) long and 40 metres (130 ft) wide, and it was eroding.