Three communes in the Ain department merge to become asingle town, Valserhône.
Bellegarde-sur-Valserine, Chatillon-en-Michaille and Lancrans have been one municipality since 1 January 2019, with a single name for the new community, which is part of the Pays Bellegardien community of municipalities.
Following in the footsteps of the 234 new municipalities created at the start of the year in France, resulting from the merger of 612 former municipalities, Valserhône now becomes the 3rd largest municipality in the Ain , with almost 17,000 inhabitants.
Valserhône…
This name, a word inspired by the rivers that cross the commune, symbolises the meeting of the Valserine, a tributary river, and the Rhône, which flows in from Switzerland.
And what do local residents think?
Meet the newly-baptised Valserhônois at the weekly market in the former Bellegarde-sur-Valserine.
A report by Franck Grassaud and Thierry Swiderski for France 3 Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes:
To find out more about the municipality of Valsherhône :
Travel link
- The Ain department
- Mobility in the Ain
- List of new communes in France, wikipedia