Italian irredentism in Savoy

Indeed, the final vote count on the referendum announced by the Court of Appeals was 130,839 in favour of annexation to France, 235 opposed and 71 void, showing a questionable complete support for French nationalism (that motivated criticisms about rigged results).

In the highest part of the country, Maurienne, Tarentaise and Upper-Savoy (Albertville and Beaufortain), the population is resolutely for the statu quo.

On 16 March 1860, the provinces of Northern Savoy (Chablais, Faucigny and Genevois) sent to Victor Emmanuel II, to Napoleon III, and to the Swiss Federal Council a declaration - sent under the presentation of a manifesto together with petitions - where they were saying that they did not wish to become French and showed their preference to remain united to the Kingdom of Sardinia (or be annexed to Switzerland were a separation from Sardinia unavoidable).

[5] Some opposition to French rule was manifest when, in 1919, France officially (but contrary to the annexation treaty) ended the military neutrality of the parts of the country of Savoy that had originally been agreed to at the Congress of Vienna, and also eliminated the free trade zone - both treaty articles having been broken unofficially in World War I. France was condemned in 1932 by the international court for noncompliance with the measures of the treaty of Turin, regarding the countries of Savoy and Nice.

The Republican Committee of the town of Bonneville considered that "the 1860 vote, was the result of imperial pressure, and not the free demonstration of the will of our country" and called for a new Referendum.

In 1861, the Associazione Oriundi Savoiardi e Nizzardi Italiani was founded in Italy,[6] an association of the Italian Savoyards that lasted one century until 1966.

During the fascist period in the early 1940s, organizations were created that promoted the unification of Savoy to the Kingdom of Italy.

[8] After World War II all the organizations of the Irredentist Savoyards were outlawed by the French authorities of Charles de Gaulle.

Savoy was part of the Kingdom of Sardinia (map of 1839, with Savoy at the top left in pink)
The Italian unification process was done even with the loss in 1860 of the Savoy province of the Kingdom of Sardinia. Savoy is located northwest in the map, on the upper left corner
The parts of Savoy under Italian control are highlighted in green