The Territory of Belfort celebrates its centenary this Friday. This little piece of Alsace that has become Franc-Comtois, known in particular for its monumental Lion created by the sculptor Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi, is distinguishes itself from other French departments in various respects.
A department that did not say its name
On March 11, 1922, 100 years ago to the day, the Territoire de Belfort officially became the 90th French department. Officially, because we can say that his birth dates back to May 10, 1871, date of the signing of the Treaty of Frankfurt which marks the end of the Franco-Prussian war and the defeat of France. Alsace and Lorraine are then attached to the German Empire, with the exception of the municipalities that make up the Territory of Belfort. “It then has a provisional status: a provisional administrator acts as prefect, a whole series of provisional administrations manage the 106 municipalities which have not been annexed by Germany”. explains Jean-Christophe Tamborini, deputy director of the departmental archives of the Territoire de Belfort.
One of the youngest departments in France
At the end of the First World War, victorious France recovered Alsace-Lorraine. However, the Territoire de Belfort does not reintegrate the Haut-Rhin. Four years later, the March 11, 1922, Abel Maisonobe becomes the first prefect of the Territory of Belfort, which thus becomes a department. “It is only 100 years old while most French departments are over 230 years old. They were created after the French Revolution, in 1789”. Other departments were created afterwards: in the Overseas Territories, in Ile-de-France, or even in Corsica.
The smallest department in France (excluding Ile-de-France)
The Territoire de Belfort is the fifth smallest French department after those in the Paris region: Val-de-Marne (242 km²), Seine-Saint-Denis (234 km²), Hauts-de-Seine (178 km²) and Paris (105 km²). Her area is 610 km² “i.e. about one thousandth of French territory and 3.8% of the Franche-Comté region”, indicates the county council. It is also one of the least populated departments with 141,852 inhabitants, according to the latest data from INSEE. The four departments mentioned above have more than one million inhabitants (2.1 million for Paris).
The only department that does not have an Assize Court
The Territory of Belfort is the only department in France that does not have an Assize Court, the competent jurisdiction to try crimes. The department is attached to the Assize Court of Vesoul, in Haute-Saône. The Territoire de Belfort does not have a sub-prefecture either. Only two other departments are in this case: Paris and Mayotte.
The inhabitants of the Territoire de Belfort do not have an official name.
How to call the inhabitants of the Territoire de Belfort? Difficult to answer this question since they do not have an official name. In 2011, France Bleu Belfort Montbéliard has launched a competition : five names were proposed to listeners, Internet users and a personality jury. 54% of them voted for “terrifortains“. The names “Terricomtois”, “Savoureux”, “Terribelfortains” and “Territorriaux”, shared the rest of the votes.
Its name does not refer to any geographical indication
The Territoire de Belfort is the only department in France not to bear the name of a river, a river, a mountain or a geographical point such as the North. “Some local scholars thought of giving it another name. It was considered to call it Savoureuse. But the name Territoire de Belfort, first with a lowercase “t” and then with a capital “T”, became anchored. The trick has been taken”, says Jean-Christophe Tamborini. He also specifies that for a long time the department was called “the French territory of the Haut-Rhin”. “Moreover, if you look in the lists of deputies and senators before 1919, you will see that they are elected as representatives of the Haut-Rhin.