of Elects and the Council of the Development of the French Basque Country. They were dependent on the Seneschal of Dax during the Ancien Régime, not dependent on Navarre. Bidache, a territory that was a sovereign principality during the Ancien Régime, did not belong to Navarre although it is also a part of the Council of Elects and the Council of the Development of the French Basque Country. On the other hand, Escos (a town in the Salies-de-Béarn canton) has usually not been considered a part of Lower Navarre, even though it belonged to Navarre during the Ancien Régime. Additionally, it has not entered the Councils of the French Basque Country. Lower Navarre is located within the Arrondissement of Bayonne. Soule (, , and in Gascon: ). Esquiule (a Béarnese community during the Ancien Régime) is usually included on the list of Souletin populations, since its population is historically Basque-speaking. However, it became part of Béarn and has not requested admission into the Councils of the French Basque Country. Soule is divided between the districts of Bayonne and Oloron-Sainte-Marie, where the majority of its communes are located. These 35 Souletin communes of the Arondissement of Oloron-Sainte-Marie are a part of a Municipal Commonwealth, the (in Souletin: ). Cities The most important city in the territory is Bayonne (, in Gascon and ). The ancient Roman , from which the toponyms and originate, is a part of the Biarritz-Anglet-Bayonne agglomeration community (BAB) alongside Biarritz and Anglet (), the most populated urban space in the territory. It is the political capital of its subprefecture and economic capital of the largest region, which includes the French Basque country and the south of Landes. Other important places are Saint-Jean-de-Luz (), Hendaye (), Sainte-Jean-Pied-de-Port (), the capital of Lower Navarre, and Mauleón (), the capital of Soule. Proposed institutional reforms A slow but continuous French institutional evolution has been produced as a response to the historical claims of the French Basque Country. By an order from 29 January 1997 from the prefect of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques, a “Basque Country” was recognized as a , according to the French administrative category, in accordance with the laws called: the Pasqua Law (LOADT) from 4 February 1995, and the Voynet Law (LOADDT) from 25 June 1999. These are based on the notion of a country in the traditional sense, as a society belonging to a place, culture, etc., promoting