terrorist organization OAS and because of that when ETA started to kill people de Gaulle gave them shelter in the French Basque Country, the so-called Le Sanctuaire. However, when the attacks continued after the death of Franco, France started a collaboration with the Spanish government against ETA. In recent years, due to an improving economy in Spain, the balance between France and Spain has shifted somewhat. The balance has also changed because of the democratization of Spain since the death of Franco in 1975. France, Spain, and the United Kingdom were the main European Union (EU) member countries that classified the ETA organization as a terrorist group. In addition, this group was also associated with the IRA terrorist group. 21st century Currently, France is one of the largest trading partners of Spain. In March 2015, Philip VI of Spain chose to go to France as its first diplomatic visit since his accession. The visit was widely regarded as a way to hail the excellent bilateral relations between France and Spain. Since May 2022, both countries finalize their first Friendship Treaty. In this way, Spain would be the third country with which France reaches such a status in its diplomatic relations, after Germany (1963) and Italy (2021). As a consequence of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, new proposals for the transport of gas through Europe were reconsidered. In this sense, France, Portugal, and Spain would discuss the distribution of costs and the deadlines for new energy projects, which would bring gas and hydrogen from the Iberian Peninsula to the rest of the continent. On 19 January 2023, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and French President Emmanuel Macron signed a Treaty of Friendship between both countries. Cultural exchange During the Roaring' 20s, France was the scene of major art exhibitions attended by famous Spanish artists, such as Joan Miró, Joaquín Sorolla, Pablo Picasso or Salvador Dalí. The Spanish Civil War and hardship immediately after spurred Spanish migration to the more developed and democratic France, which had a labour shortage in the aftermath of the Second World War. The Spanish artist Pablo Picasso, resident in the French capital Paris since 1901, was refused naturalisation shortly after Franco took control of Spain, but remained in Paris until his death in 1973. A Eurostat publication in 2016, estimated that 122,385 French citizens live in Spain and 128,000 Spanish citizens live in France, while it is