LA VIE DES CIVILS

In 1914, the car park where you are standing was occupied by a covered market with a large gallery on the first floor. In 1916, this gallery was converted to accommodate the less fortunate relatives of wounded soldiers being treated in Bar-le-Duc. These visitors had at their disposal a common room, shown in this photo, and 3-bed rooms. Assistance organizations provided them with help and comfort. This was the case, for example, with the Society of Friends, a British religious association run in Bar-le-Duc by very devoted English women. From 1914 to 1918, the covered market was very busy but food products were rarer than before the war. They are also more expensive, as in all the shops of the city. To face this situation, the municipality created in 1914 "popular stoves" which distributed meals and food products to needy families and refugees. The Chamber of Commerce also acted throughout the war to ensure that the city was supplied with basic necessities and to influence prices. This was not enough, hence the action of Émile Bugnon, a primary school inspector, who founded a joint purchasing cooperative at the end of 1917. This later gave rise to the "Coopérateurs de Lorraine", a chain of stores with branches that has now disappeared. A plaque in rue du Tribel, in the upper town, perpetuates the memory.