Figueres: the capital that increases its population with services at the limit

Anyone looking for a rental home in Figueres has a hard time. The reader can check this firsthand: if they go to a real estate portal like Idealista, they will find only two apartments for rent in the entire city and at a high price: 1,100 euros per month for a villa in the center or 1,800 in the Oliva Gran neighborhood. It's not because it's a luxury city, but simply because there is no supply. This is just one example of the challenges that the capital of Alt Empordà has been facing for some time, along with population growth, the perception of insecurity, the saturation of public services, or the loss of purchasing power. A cocktail that in the last parliamentary elections translated as follows: the far-right garnered up to 21.92% of the votes. Vox was the third force, with 11.87%, and Aliança the fourth with 10.05%, in elections won by Junts (25.80%), followed by the PSC (23.18%). The result differs from the 2023 municipal elections, when Jordi Masquef (Junts) achieved an absolute majority with a leadership that generates many followers in the municipality – he obtained 49.81% of the votes – versus detractors who accuse him of adopting the far-right agenda.

L'ARA spent a day in the city, where it was able to confirm that the municipality is a first-class cultural attraction due to the Dalí Museum and the painter's birthplace – recently opened – and that at the same time it is suffering from population growth that is questioning public services.

"It's a success that no one has been hurt"

The historic center is a reflection of the changes the city has undergone: the Dalí Museum stands majestically at the end of the climb to the Castle (brand new), while in an adjacent street, migrant people queue at the office for ID and passport management. Just this March 30th, the City Council announced that the city had surpassed 50,000 inhabitants for the first time, a growth that has occurred, according to municipal register data. This means a step forward in the number of councilors and more competencies, a change in category. It has grown basically due to immigration. Compared to the average number of migrants in Catalonia, which is 18.74%, Figueres reaches almost double: up to 30.1% is foreign population. A third of these come from Morocco, as the border situation with France causes many people of this origin to settle there.

This population increase also poses challenges, such as complexity in classrooms. A school teacher, who prefers not to be identified, exemplifies this: "At the end of the day, we see it as a success that no one has been hurt [...]. This cannot be our goal." This teacher, who works on the front lines, says this due to the heterogeneity in her class: not only due to migration but also due to children with special educational needs, ranging from a lack of economic resources to problems with attention or relationships. Added to this is the live enrollment, meaning children who arrive mid-term. Since September, 23 more secondary students and 38 primary students have arrived. Figueres has 8,117 students in total.

The other challenge for the city is economic dynamism. As in all medium-sized cities, local commerce is suffering, and it's palpable when walking through the center of the capital of Alt Empordà. Empty premises and some graffiti that the City Council rehabilitates by painting literary phrases on them. Jordi Córdoba, promoter of the Alt Empordà Business and Cradle Center (CEBA), a space for supporting entrepreneurs, notes a degradation of the historic center, mainly due to the departure of Zara. He points out that the fact that this multinational settled in the shopping center of La Jonquera did a lot of damage to local commerce. "People bring more people," he summarizes. Therefore, from the association, beyond holding talks to advise businesses and the self-employed – the latest on how to make your business viable with Elisabet Bach – they also try to raise their voices when they learn that a premises is being transferred to prevent it from remaining empty. Frederic Carbó, president of Comerç Figueres, asks the City Council to move towards a pedestrian center, with parking lots around to make it accessible. "We don't see any other way to fight against shopping centers," he says.

The City Council's plan

Masquef, who is a mayor in the most classic style –while walking down the Rambla he receives congratulations, complaints and suggestions from neighbors–, makes it clear that population cannot grow indefinitely. He notes an increase in the pressure on public services and also a loss of per capita income for the Figueres population. The phenomenon that has occurred is as follows: while Figueres has attracted people with precarious jobs working in industrial estates around the municipality, it has simultaneously lost native population from the city, especially those who lived in the historic center, who have moved to smaller, well-connected towns in the area. In other words, the city's physiognomy has changed. The data speak for themselves: if the net per capita income in Catalonia is 17,262 euros, in Figueres it drops to 12,566 euros.

In a conversation with ARA, the mayor assures that to combat this situation they have presented an affordable housing plan that foresees the launch of 1,000 apartments from now until 2030, in addition to speeding up licenses and introducing tax incentives. At the same time, the PSC government in the Generalitat, with whom Masquef, despite being from Junts, maintains fluid communication, has included the City Council's project to renovate the west of the city in the neighborhood plan (24.8 million euros). The City Council has also reached an agreement with the State to bury the conventional train station tracks – a project that the PSC had also promoted when it was in government – and is working for Figueres to become a university city to retain young talent.

Alfons Martínez, spokesperson for the socialists in the Figueres City Council – the future candidate for the elections will be Javi Martín–, regrets in any case that the City Council is reacting late. In his opinion, a complete overhaul of the historic center is needed, the "degradation" of the streets must be avoided, and above all, poverty must be combated, which he believes is the true breeding ground for the growth of the far-right. In this regard, he accuses Masquef of having fueled the perception of insecurity, which he has combated with more police presence in visible places, but has left other areas where it is already noticeable without personnel. "He is implementing policies so that votes do not go to the right," states Martínez.

Does Aliança have a chance in the municipal elections? They have just chosen a candidate, even though they first tried to reel in Masquef himself, as the ARA explained. The Junts mayoral candidate has a tough stance on immigration, but distances himself from Sílvia Orriols' "Islamophobic" discourse. "People who come to commit crimes, out they go, but you can't generalize – he says –. Citizens value good sense and common sense." In fact, his recipe is to ignore AC. So far it has worked for him and he will test it again in 2027.