Franche-Comté (UK: /ˌfrɒ̃ʃ kɒ̃ˈteɪ/,[2] US: /- koʊnˈ-/;[3][4] French: [fʁɑ̃ʃ kɔ̃te] ⓘ; Frainc-Comtou: Fraintche-Comtè; Arpitan: Franche-Comtât; also German: Freigrafschaft; Spanish: Franco Condado; all lit.

The name Franche Comté de Bourgogne or Freigrafschaft Burgund in German (Free County of Burgundy) did not appear officially until 1366.

It was conquered a second time in 1674, and finally was ceded to France in the Treaty of Nijmegen (1678), leaving the Holy Roman Empire as a result.

Louis XVI issued a decree banning these practices on 8 August 1779, but the Parlement of Besançon blocked this until 1787.

The population of the region fell by a fifth from 1851 to 1946, reflecting low French natural growth and migration to more urbanized parts of the country.

Not so majestic as the Alps, the Jura mountains are more accessible and are France's first cross-country skiing area.

The Région des Lacs is a land of gorges and waterfalls dotted with tiny villages, each with a domed belfry decorated with mosaic of tiles or slates or beaten from metal.

The summits of Haut Jura have wonderful views across Lac Léman (Lake Geneva) and toward the Alps.

Forty percent of the region's GDP is dependent on manufacturing activities, and most of its production is exported.

Franc-comtois is the name of the dialect of Langue d'Oïl spoken by people in the northern part of the region.

We find in Besançon the National School of Mechanics and Microtechnology (ENSMM) or the UTBM, the University of Technology of Belfort-Montbéliard[9] in Belfort and Montbéliard.