2 Francs - Chambre de Commerce de Chateauroux 36

During the First World War, the chronic disappearance of metallic coinage from French circulation forced hundreds of local chambers of commerce to issue their own emergency paper. Châteauroux was among the earlier participants, authorizing fractional notes through its Chambre de Commerce as small change simply ceased to function as a medium in everyday trade. Imprimerie Badel, a local press, handled production entirely within the department — an unusual degree of self-sufficiency compared to chambers that contracted with major Parisian printers.

The watermark security feature is modest but deliberate, enough to deter casual forgery in a regional economy where the issuer was personally known to most users.