Principality of Arbézie

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Principality of Arbézie
Flag	Arms
Motto: None Musical Anthem: None

Location:	Straddling the Franco-Swiss border in the town of La Cure.
Co-ordinates:	46°27'48"N, 06°04'30"E
Area:	0.00015 km²
Capital:	None
Membership:	< 10
Date of foundation:	1958
Leadership:	Bérénice Salino and Alexandre Peyron
Organisational structure:	Constitutional monarchy
Language:	French
Currency:	Euro / Swiss Franc

The Principality of Arbézie (French: Principauté Arbézienne) is a tongue-in-cheek micronation consisting of a hotel-restaurant whose premises are bisected by the international frontier that passes through the Franco-Swiss border town of La Cure.

The present Franco-Swiss border was delineated by the Treaty of Dappes, signed on 8 December 1862. In La Cure, the newly-agreed border bisected a field owned by a Mr Ponthus. Ponthus took advantage of this by constructing a shop that straddled the border, giving him the unique advantage of being able to conduct business in two countries at once. The construction of Ponthus' shop was made possible by the delay between the signing of the treaty, and its formal ratification by Switzerland on 20 February 1863, as buildings constructed prior to the treaty's ratification were not subject to its terms.

The shop became the Hotel Franco-Suisse in 1921, when it was sold to Jules-Joseph Arbez. During World War II the hotel earned a colourful reputation as the only venue capable of simultaneously hosting German occupation troops and members of the French Resistance legally under one roof - albeit in different parts of the building; the Germans were free to access the bar and dining room, in France, while the Resistance were hosted upstairs, in Switzerland.

The Principality of Arbézie came into being in 1958, as the humorous spur-of-the-moment invention of visiting lawmaker Edgar Faure, a member of the French National Assembly. Faure "officially" recognised the principality, and named then-owner Max Arbez "Prince Max I, sovereign of Arbézie". Charles de Gaulle later visited, becoming Arbézie's first and most prominent honorary citizen. Honorary citizenships were also awarded to French polar explorer Paul-Emil Victor, and author Bernard Clavel.

As at May 2010 the business trades under the name Hotel-Restaurant Arbez Franco-Suisse, and is operated by Max Arbez' grandchildren Bérénice Salino and her brother Alexandre Peyron.