Story of the Dappes valley

The Italian campaign of 1796-1797 showed Napoleon Bonaparte that there was a great need for very quick French communication between Paris and the Simplon Pass via Geneva. Negotiations with Switzerland resulted in the mapping of a route on French territory. When the Empire fell in 1815, France’s borders were returned to those existing prior to 1790. However, both countries claimed to own the Dappes valley. In 1862, the dispute was resolved by the Treaty of Dappes. France was given the land on which the route de la Faucille had been mapped (now the N5) and in return, Switzerland was awarded the rest of the valley, as well as part of the Noirmont slope on the French side. Thus, some of the La Cure homes which had always been French became Swiss. Some are still split in two by the border, with one foot in France and the other in Switzerland.