Banknote Billet 5 francs 1915

The 5 franc banknote from the city of Wattrelos, issued in May 1915, belongs to the category of local emergency monetary issues produced during the First World War. It is part of series A-4 and stands as a direct testimony to the particular economic conditions that prevailed in the department of Nord under German occupation.

Faced with the shortage of official fiduciary currency caused by the conflict, many French municipalities in occupied territories or near the front were forced to issue their own payment instruments in order to maintain local commercial exchanges. The city of Wattrelos, an industrial municipality in the Nord department located on the border with Belgium, was among those communities that resorted to this pragmatic solution from the very first months of the conflict.

This banknote, dated May 1915, bears a face value of 5 francs, making it a relatively significant denomination among issues of this type. The precise designation of series A-4 allows for its identification and classification within the full set of Wattrelos issues from this period, thus facilitating the work of collectors and researchers specialising in French emergency currency.

These municipal banknotes, also referred to as emergency currency or local cash vouchers, were generally printed on paper and bore the official markings of the issuing municipality, the nominal value, as well as various administrative indications guaranteeing their validity within the communal territory.