railway line follows the Lot to cross the city, and also continues to follow, like the newly created road. In 1887 the old episcopal palace disappeared in flames, the prefecture had to be rebuilt. On 8 April 1888 Mende became one of the first cities in France, and the first chef-lieu to have electric lighting. The plant was installed in the old . The twentieth century was marked by a beginning of economic decline. The gradual end of the wool industry, the First and the Second World War depopulated the city. Between 1931 and 1934 baths are built, since becoming the Home, and located on the market square. The building was destroyed in summer 2013, to be replaced by a multi-cultural hall. In 1939, shortly before World War II, an internment camp was built in the woods of the Rieucros. The population was opposed to this transit camp for anti-fascists and communists. It then became an internment camp exclusively for women. The mayor at the time, , condemned the Vichy regime and the camp in his hometown, where he made sure that children interned with their mother followed a normal education. His hostile words and acts to the regime in place led him to be removed from his post in 1941. He then joined Resistance where he became one of the leaders for the Lozère. Arrested and sent to German camps in 1944, he died during a transfer in 1945. Ideally placed between the Maquis of the Cévennes and the Aubrac, the town was located as well as a centre for the coordination of the Lozère Interior Resistance. As for the population, it protected itself where shelters against aerial bombardments were implemented. From the 1970s, the city had a sizable population growth. The city then extended to the Causse d'Auge. In the 1980s and 1990s, one can also see that the department was depopulating overall, while its prefecture was expanding. Culture and sport took more importance in the life of the city. During the 1990s, the city developed administrative reconciliations with nearby cities. Therefore, it formed the Estelle city network with Aurillac and Rodez. The principle of the network was to share experiences and pool resources to develop such medium-sized cities. Shortly after, it was with other networks that Mende became closer to other cities of the Massif Central. This is the case, for example, with the Cyber Massif network