Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port grounds. The town has traditionally been an important point on the Way of St. James, the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela, as it stands at the base of the Roncevaux Pass across the Pyrenees. "Pied-de-Port" means 'foot of the pass' in Pyrenean French. The routes from Paris, Vézelay and Le Puy-en-Velay meet at Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port and it was the pilgrims' last stop before the arduous mountain crossing. In 1998, the "Porte St-Jacques" (city gate) was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Sites as part of the sites along the Routes of Santiago de Compostela in France. The cobbled rue de la
Pied-Noir is known historically that many Sephardi Jews came following the Spanish "Reconquista". In 1870, Justice Minister Adolphe Crémieux wrote a proposal, "décret Crémieux", giving French citizenship to Algerian Jews. This advancement was resisted by part of the larger "Pied-Noir" community and in 1897 a wave of anti-Semitic riots occurred in Algeria. During World War II the "décret Crémieux" was abolished under the Vichy regime, and Jews were barred from professional jobs between 1940 and 1943. Citizenship was restored in 1943. Thus, the Jews of Algeria eventually came to be considered part of the "Pied-Noir" community, and many fled the country