Radio Andorra: Pirate vs Privateer in Pyrenean Radio Wars

Historian Sylvain Athiel has likened Radio Andorra to a pirate station and its French rival Sud Radio to a privateer in his new book, *L'histoire secrète des grandes radios pyrénéennes*. The work explores the origins and turbulent history of these Pyrenean broadcasters, focusing on why entrepreneur Jacques Trémoulet launched Radio Andorra in Encamp at the outset of the Second World War.

Radio Andorra emerged in 1939 amid French radio stations either controlled by Nazi occupiers or serving Vichy regime propaganda. Broadcasting from Andorra's neutral territory, it offered listeners music and escapism, avoiding political news. Its strong signal reached far across a sparse radio landscape, enhanced by warm female voices and an exotic Spanish-inflected charm that appealed to French audiences.

French authorities targeted the station early, viewing it as evading the state broadcasting monopoly. Hostility intensified after the war under President Vincent Auriol, a former mayor of Muret who resented Radio Andorra's success and its ties to the pro-station newspaper *La Dépêche du Midi*. Athiel questions whether this reflected a state operation to control or sink the station, noting personal and political tensions.

Trémoulet's wartime stance drew scrutiny: he navigated relations with German authorities primarily to protect his business, though Andorra's neutrality prevented any takeover. Rumors of espionage for either side—signaling submarines or aiding British intelligence—remain unproven.

French efforts escalated with SOFIRA, which created Radio Monte-Carlo for Mediterranean influence, followed by Andorradio, Radio de les Valls, and Sud Radio. Athiel argues these were state-backed to undermine Radio Andorra, often at heavy financial cost and questionable commercial viability.

Sud Radio gained ground in the 1960s by targeting youth with rock 'n' roll and leveraging portable transistors, while Radio Andorra's aging Encamp and Engolasters facilities lagged. Both stations closed in 1981 as FM technology and medium-wave decline took hold, amid Andorran pushes for national media like "Una ràdio andorrana."

Athiel deems Radio Andorra "pirate" only symmetrically with Sud Radio as "privateer"—the latter enjoying state patronage. He dismisses unproven claims like Trémoulet's involvement in the "Cas Clément" murder and imagines Trémoulet, who died in 1971, plotting a comeback. Modern Sud Radio has distanced itself from its origins, while Encamp's former Radio Andorra building now houses government offices rather than a planned museum.