Seventy Years On !

70 years ago the second world war started but also in February of that year half a million refugees crossed the border into France from Spain. Franco's forces had pushed on towards Barcelona, Gerona and Figeras bombing civilian populations en route. Argeles beach accommodated thousands of refugees and, instead of the sun drenched beach and pleasant promenades which are the 2009 scene, there were families who scraped out holes in the sand to protect themselves from the vicious 'Tramontane' wind. On a sunny afternoon of early September it is hard to imagine the scene 70 years ago.

Région:	Languedoc-Roussillon
Département:	Pyrénées-Orientales
Commune:	Argelès-sur-Mer
Photographer:	Maggie Comley

Book (French Edition) of photographs taken by Manuel Moros an artist living in Collioure at the time