5 Francs

Printed by the Banque de France in metropolitan France in 1941, these notes were intended for circulation in French Indochina at a moment when the colonial administration had already been compromised by the Japanese occupation that began in September 1940. Whether significant quantities actually reached Indochina before Allied naval interdiction disrupted supply lines remains a point of debate among specialists — surviving examples in any circulated grade are considerably less common than the issue volume might suggest.

Walhain designed and Deloche engraved the intaglio work, a division of labor typical of Banque de France production at the time. Two signature combinations are recorded under Pick #4, reflecting changes in bank directorship during the war years.