Andorra is a 468-sq.-km. duty-free enclave and ski resort nestled high in the Pyrenees between Spain and France. Its most striking characteristics are a proliferation of tobacco, alcohol, perfume and electronics shops‹and an unbreathable level of air pollution generated by the thousands of cars that drive through each day in search of cheap gas and merchandise.
Formerly an isolated farming community, Andorra became a sort of rear-guard trading post for Spaniards during the Franco era and now lives on duty-free sales, tourism and a banking sector that attracts foreign deposits with secret tax-free accounts. Andorra is a principality without a prince: in a curious vestige of the feudal past, the role of head of state is shared by the President of France and the Bishop of Urgel in Spain. But real power is held by the local parliament.
With its population of 67,000, Andorra is a prosperous little micro-state that attracts 10 million visitors a year. But Prime Minister Marc Forné, 53, has big plans for further development. Among other things, he wants to build up the skiing and hotel infrastructure and make a bid for the 2010 Winter Olympics, construct a national heliport (the enclave is now only accessible by road), and create a casino complex to draw even more foreign visitors and money. But don't talk to him about joining the European Union any time soon. "We want an association with the E.U. that respects our particularity," he says. "We might consider membership at some point, but a lot of things about European regulations frighten us. If they forced our people to sell gas at the French prices, or to start paying income taxes, we'd have to roll out the guillotine!"
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