The Franc-Lyonnais was a

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. Located on a narrow strip of land on the left bank of the River

Saône The Saône ( , ; frp, Sona; lat, Arar) is a river in eastern France. It is a right tributary of the Rhône, rising at Vioménil in the Vosges department and joining the Rhône in Lyon, at the southern end of the Presqu'île. The name deri ...

, it was composed of thirteen

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

es, forming two parts : * South part, from the north outer wall of

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...

: ** Cuire-la-Croix-Rousse ** Caluire **

Fontaines-sur-Saône Fontaines-sur-Saône () is a commune in the Metropolis of Lyon in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics ( physic ...

** Rochetaillée-sur-Saône **

Fleurieu-sur-Saône Fleurieu-sur-Saône (, literally ''Fleurieu on Saône'') is a commune in the Metropolis of Lyon in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in eastern France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Wester ...

** Vimy. From 1665, Vimy is chosen as capital and rechristened Neuville, in the honor of

Camille de Neufville de Villeroy Camille de Neufville de Villeroy (22 August 1606, Rome - 3 June 1693, Lyon) was the archbishop of Lyon, archbishop and count of Lyon and primate of the Gauls from 1653 to 1693. He was the second of five sons of Neufville de Villeroy family, Charles ...

, lord of the parish and

archbishop of Lyon The Archdiocese of Lyon (Latin: ''Archidiœcesis Lugdunensis''; French: ''Archidiocèse de Lyon''), formerly the Archdiocese of Lyon–Vienne–Embrun, is a Latin Church metropolitan archdiocese of the Catholic Church in France. The Archbishops ...

** Genay, the first capital of the province ** Bernoud ** Saint-Jean-de-Thurigneux * Northern part, embedded in the Principality of the

Dombes The Dombes (; Arpitan: Domba) is an area in eastern France, once an independent municipality, formerly part of the province of Burgundy, and now a district comprised in the department of Ain, and bounded on the west by the Saône River, on the s ...

: ** Saint-Bernard-d'Anse, formerl
Saint Barnard
**

Saint-Didier-de-Formans Saint-Didier-de-Formans (, literally ''Saint-Didier of Formans'') is a commune in the Ain department in eastern France. Population Personalities The historian Marc Bloch (1886-1944) was executed by the Gestapo here. See also *Communes of ...

** Riottier The Franc-Lyonnais probably originates from lands which used to belong to the church of Lyon. After being put under the protection of the count of

Savoy Savoy (; frp, Savouè ; french: Savoie ) is a cultural-historical region in the Western Alps. Situated on the cultural boundary between Occitania and Piedmont, the area extends from Lake Geneva in the north to the Dauphiné in the south. Savo ...

, in 1398, the province is united to the kingdom of France around 1475, while remaining a province considered as foreign and within the lands of the German Empire. The Franc-Lyonnais strikes a deal in 1556 with the monarchy, guaranteeing its privileges, mainly the exemption from taxes. All the political story of Franc-Lyonnais is the one of the defense of its privileges, which the monarchy tries to take away during the 18th century. When the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

took place in 1789, the Franc-Lyonnais was split between the departements of

Rhône-et-Loire Rhône-et-Loire was the short-lived department of France whose prefecture (capital) was Lyon. Its name takes into the two rivers which is flowing in the department: Rhône and Loire. Created on 4 March 1790, like the other French departments, R ...

and

Ain Ain (, ; frp, En) is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in Eastern France. Named after the Ain river, it is bordered by the Saône and Rhône rivers. Ain is located on the country's eastern edge, on the Swiss border, where it ...

Bibliography

* Un pays et ses privilèges sous l'Ancien Régime : le Franc-Lyonnais / Alain Caraco. - Mémoire de maîtrise d'histoire moderne, Lyon II, 1983. This document is in storage at the Lyon Municipal Library.