Andorra Minister Opposes Border-Closing Housing Protest at Runer River

Andorra's Interior Ministry will not support any protest that involves closing the border, Interior Minister Ester Molné has said, while defending the right to demonstrate.

Molné was responding to a proposal by the Sindicat d'Habitatge (Housing Union) to stage a mobilisation at the Runer river border during the Puríssima holiday period. She said the ministry has consistently been flexible and has backed demonstrations, particularly on issues as sensitive as housing, but made clear that protests cannot obstruct the free movement of people and goods.

"One thing is the right to demonstrate, but another is harming cross-border workers, businesses and the economic sector," the minister said. She warned that the government will not support actions that prevent movement, as such actions fall outside the law. "Let them demonstrate and make themselves heard, but without illegal actions," she said.

The ministry has said it will propose alternatives so that protesters can air their demands without affecting border traffic. Molné did not specify what form those alternatives might take.

She spoke at the end of a joint appearance with Foreign Minister Imma Tor and Landry Riba, Secretary of State for Relations with the European Union. The minister said the government is sympathetic to the housing problem but cannot accept a measure that harms the economy and the freedom of movement of the country's citizens, whether or not people agree that a social housing crisis exists.