Paris, Lyon and Marseille). The community's very strong identity (with newspapers, cinemas, dance halls, Armenian Sports Union) was dispersed, with the "Armenian village" on the Rue de Fontlozier. It showed signs of rapid integration: In 1946, half of the 2,000 Armenians of Valencia opted for French citizenship. In 1947, 200 Armenians of Valence took advantage of the offer to return to the Soviet countries, which proved to be a failure. The strong community welcomed new refugees, escaping from political turmoil in Syria during the 1950-60s, and Lebanon during the Civil war in 1970-80s. 7,500 people in Valence belonged to this community, which makes the Armenian community of Valence one of the largest in France: the Armenian National Union is also based in Valence. This strong presence has passed into the odonymy: a street and a square of the old Armenian quarter make reference to it: the Rue d’Arménie and the Place Missak Manouchian. The cultural life of the community is very active, with 28 associations, including the Evangelical Church, the Armenian courts, and the House of Armenian culture. World War II After the invasion of Poland by Germany, on 1 September 1939, France and the United Kingdom declared war on Germany on 3 September 1939. Germany invaded France, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands on 10 May 1940. During World War II, Valence suffered several allied aerial bombardments, intended to destroy the bridge over the Rhône. On 15 August 1944, bombs destroyed several quarters and buildings in the city, including the hospital, killing 280 people. From the era of the prefecture, there remained only the gate, which has been carefully preserved since. Four days later, on 19 August 1944, a German train loaded with nitroglycerin exploded, largely destroying the quarter of La Palla and causing 335 casualties among civilians, the military and the resistance fighters. On 2 August 1944, south of Valence, bombings of the railway depot and yard of Portes-lès-Valence destroyed 51 locomotives, with 12 victims and 58 wounded among the railway workers and the population. The northern part of Valence, almost completely razed to the ground, was rebuilt and today one finds many administrative buildings in this area such as the , the general treasury, social security, the post office and the police headquarters. Drôme was one of the departments where the Resistance was the most active. In 1943, the Resistance was organised and grew, and many Drôme people