Fleury-devant-Douaumont
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Fleury-devant-Douaumont is a commune of the Meuse département, in northeastern France.
Since the end of the Battle of Verdun in 1916, it has been unoccupied (official population: 0) along with Bezonvaux, Beaumont-en-Verdunois, Haumont-près-Samogneux, Louvemont-Côte-du-Poivre, and Cumières-le-Mort-Homme.
During the war, the town was completely destroyed and the land was made uninhabitable to such an extent that a decision was made not to rebuild it. The area around the municipality was contaminated by corpses, explosives and poisonous gas, so no farmers could take up their work. The site of the commune is maintained as a testimony to war and is officially designated as a "village that died for France" (« village mort pour la France »). It is managed by a municipal council of three members appointed by the préfet of the Meuse département.
Before the war Fleury was a village of 422 that produced agriculture and woodworking. Today, it is a wooded area next to the Verdun Memorial. Arrows guide visitors to where the street and houses used to be.
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