5 Francs Berger

The "Berger" series was introduced during the Occupation as a low-denomination note for everyday transactions, printed domestically at a time when the Banque de France had lost access to its usual high-security production arrangements. Serveau's design was engraved by two different craftsmen split across obverse and reverse — an unusual division of labor that reflects wartime staffing pressures rather than any deliberate artistic choice.

The 1947 signature pairing of Rousseau and Gargam marks post-Liberation administrative continuity; Favre-Gilly had served as caissier général through the Occupation years and into Liberation, and his replacement by Gargam signals the slower institutional turnover that characterized the Banque de France compared to other French institutions purged more aggressively after 1944.