When the armistice marked the end of the fighting, it is a great relief to every soldier and civilian, and François is no exception. But the conflict is not officially over.

The peace terms must be negotiated with Germany, as the people return to the occupied and newly-liberated areas and the post-conflict situation begins, seen by soldiers and civilians alike as a ‘return to normal’. Yet everything has changed. Several months of waiting, worries and frustrations have begun for everyone.

First, 4 million soldiers had to be demobilised. The civilians who remained are finding it hard to rebuild their homes among the ruins. It was a precarious situation and the region was home to great movement of displaced populations. In rural areas, farmland, strewn with bodies, shells and chemicals, has become unsuitable for crops, a situation which would last until

1976 in certain areas. Lack of running water and food supplies meant the residents came out of the war with deplorable health. The children suffered from severe stunted growth. Weakened bodies find it hard to resist Spanish flu, which soon kills more than the war itself.

On top of that, there were the soldiers’ physical and psychological wounds, as well as the numerous orphans and war widows. Although there was State support, it could not compensate the loss of a loved one.

Consequently, a commemorative thrust manifest itself and remembrance tourism was rapidly put in place as early as 1919 to perpetuate the souvenir of those who died for their country.

After the war, local authorities and populations aspired to build a future marked by economic growth and social progress. The “rebirth” started first with the restoration of the production tool, industrial as well as agricultural, along with its modernisation. The post-war was also a period of massive electrification of cities and the countryside. Starting in 1928, the Loucheur law organised the State’s financial intervention in favour of working-class housing.

The period was also one of rediscovering leisure activities and the emergence of a culture, equally working-class, even if tensions progressively emerged both from within and beyond the borders.