Borders remains in Savoy today, to showcase a very interesting collection from the Archives départementales de la Savoie on the referendum that ratified the treaty for the annexation of the area to France – a referendum that was highly contested for the suspicious result of 99.8% of votes (universal male suffrage) in favour of the annexation to France, when in reality many groups opposed being ceded to France.
The fonds include court convictions, documents on the war against Austria, the visit of Napoleon III, and miscellaneous material on the annexation process. In the picture, a campaign poster that invited the Savoy citizens to vote for the annexation: apart from giving back honour to the people of Savoy, the poster also informed that joining France would mean lower prices on salt, higher agricultural prices, shorter military service, and many more perks.
Explore this and more documents on Archives Portal Europe:
https://www.archivesportaleurope.net/ead-display/-/ead/pl/aicode/FR-FRAD073/type/fa/id/FRAD073_1J_1-388/unitid/1J+1-387+-+1J+265+1/search/0/savoie+annexion
