Cabassers.org platform reports Spanish and Catalan governments to the UN over Francoist place names

The complaint focuses on the municipality of Cabacés, demanding the restoration of the historical name Cabassers and the removal of spellings imposed in 1939.

Map of Catalonia with a highlighted spot over the Priorat area, symbolizing the toponymic dispute.
IA

Map of Catalonia with a highlighted spot over the Priorat area, symbolizing the toponymic dispute.

The Cabassers.org platform has filed a complaint with the United Nations against the Spanish and Catalan governments regarding the continued presence of place names altered by Francoist repression in several municipalities.

The complaint, which also includes four Catalan municipalities, focuses on the case of Cabacés, in Priorat, whose official name the platform demands be restored to Cabassers. According to the statement, the persistence of these spellings “is not a simple linguistic matter, but a direct inheritance of the Francoist imposition”.

The persistence of these spellings is not a simple linguistic matter, but a direct inheritance of the Francoist imposition.

Cabassers.org argues that maintaining these names violates the 1998 Linguistic Policy Law and the 2022 Democratic Memory Law. The document highlights that the issue affects other municipalities that retain spellings imposed by the regime in 1939, such as Capmany (Campmany), Lladó (Lledó d’Empordà), and Rialp (Rialb).
The international action has been extended to the European Parliament to urge institutions to eliminate traces of Francoist intervention in toponymy. This initiative joins the judicial litigation already opened for the Cabacés case, whose ruling is expected by 2026, considering that recovering the name Cabassers “is an act of reparation and a key step for the recognition of the victims of cultural repression”.