How the People Are Governed in Andorra

In the time of the great emperor Charlemagne, more than a thousand years ago, the Andorrans helped him fight the Moors, the Mohammedan people from North Africa who were trying to invade France. As a reward Charlemagne allowed the Andorrans to govern themselves.

Today, as for more than six hundred years, the government of Andorra is supposed to be supervised by the French government and by the Bishop of Urgel in Spain, but they never really interfere with Andorra's government. Each year the Andorrans do send a small gift of money to the French government and to the bishop, quite as a matter of custom. Andorra has a council of twenty-four men, who are elected every four years. Twice a year they meet, dressed in the same costumes that Andorrans wore hundreds of years ago.

The government gets its money by selling postage stamps, auto-mobile licenses, and electric power to light people's houses. There is only one movie theater in the entire country. Until 1933, only the heads of families could vote, but now all men vote. Andorra has no army, and has never had a war.

The country is divided into six communities or parishes, and there is a patrol of five armed men who act as the police among all of them. Since World War I, many modern products have come to be sold in Andorra, and tourists have been attracted there. This has made Andorra somewhat more modern than it once was, though it has not changed a great deal.