History of Tulle in Timeline

By Popular Timelines Editorial Team · Updated: April 23, 2025

Tulle is a commune located in central France. It serves as the capital of the Corrèze department within the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region and stands as the third-largest town in the former Limousin region. Furthermore, Tulle is the center of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tulle.

1917: Trains supply the thermal power station with coal

From 1917 onwards, trains passing on the nearby tracks would supply the thermal power station with coal at the level of the present Socio-Cultural Centre.

1917: Anonymous letters scandal begins

In 1917, Tulle was in the spotlight of the French press because of a news item involving over 100 anonymous letters that were sent, denouncing all the secrets of the inhabitants of the city. The sender was actually Angele Laval, a spurned and insane woman.

1922: Anonymous letters scandal ends

In 1922, the anonymous letters scandal in Tulle, which had started in 1917, came to an end. The sender was revealed to be Angele Laval, a spurned and insane woman, who inspired Clouzot for his film Le Corbeau and Cocteau for his play La Machine à écrire.

June 1944: Reprisal massacre of civilians in Tulle

In June 1944, the 2nd SS Division Das Reich division of the Waffen SS perpetrated a reprisal massacre of civilians in Tulle, following the killing and maiming of some 40 German soldiers in Tulle on 8 June 1944 by the Maquis resistance movement.

June 1944: SS round up and hang male civilians

On 9 June 1944, a large number of male civilians were rounded up by the SS. Of these, 97 were randomly selected and then hanged from lamp posts and balconies in the town. Another 321 captives were sent to forced labour camps in Germany where 101 died.

1949: Mayors of Tulle since 1949

List of mayors of Tulle since 1949.

1963: Assassination plot cover uses Tulle area

In the summer of 1963, a professional assassin known as the "Jackal", who is hired to assassinate French president Charles de Gaulle, uses the Tulle area and some of its fictional residents as cover for the preparations for the assassination attempt, as depicted in the film "The Day of the Jackal" and the novel of the same name.

May 1968: Generals playing ball in Tulle Prison

During May 1968, in the last stages of the Algerian War and its aftermath, four military officers involved in instigating a failed coup aimed at deposing President de Gaulle were held in the prison at Tulle. De Gaulle referred at the time to "those idiotic generals playing ball in Tulle Prison".

June 1968: Raoul Salan amnestied

On 15 June 1968, Raoul Salan, the last of four military officers involved in instigating a failed coup aimed at deposing President de Gaulle held in the prison at Tulle, was amnestied in the wake of "The Events" of May 1968.

1971: The Day of the Jackal novel released

In 1971, Frederick Forsyth's novel "The Day of the Jackal" was released. The novel served as the basis for the 1973 film of the same name, which is partly set in Tulle.

The Day of the Jackal

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1972: Army Technical Teaching School annex created

In 1972, the annex of the Army Technical Teaching School (EETAT) was created in Tulle to train electromechanical engineers, accountants and mechanics.

1973: The Day of the Jackal film released

In 1973, the film The Day of the Jackal, a political thriller directed by Fred Zinnemann and starring Edward Fox and Michael Lonsdale, was released. The film is partly set and partly filmed in the Tulle area.

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1973: Administrative City Tower construction

Since 1973, the town centre has had a tower, the Cité administrative (Administrative City Tower), which has 22 levels and is 86 m high on the river side.

1977: National Technical School of the Army annex opens

In 1977, an annex of the National Technical School of the Army (ENTSOA) was opened in Tulle.

1979: Weapons museum created

In 1979, a weapons museum was created in Tulle by the staff of the MAT factory.

1983: Gendarmerie School of Tulle opens

In 1983, the Gendarmerie School of Tulle, located in the barracks of La Bachellerie, replaced the National Technical School of the Army (ENTSOA).

1984: National Technical School of the Army annex closes

In 1984, the annex of the National Technical School of the Army (ENTSOA) that had opened in 1977 was closed.

1989: Excavations under the nave of the present cathedral

In 1989, excavations under the nave of the present cathedral uncovered the remains of an apsidiole dating from the Carolingian period as well as a poly-lobed portal of Mozarabic influence.

1996: Tulle hosts the finish of a stage of the Tour de France

In 1996, Tulle hosted the finish of a stage of the Tour de France starting from Super-Besse (Puy-de-Dôme).

2001: François Hollande mayor of Tulle

François Hollande was the mayor of Tulle in 2001.

2005: Excavations uncovered the north wall of the medieval church of Saint-Julien

In 2005, during construction in the vicinity of the cathedral, excavations uncovered the north wall of the medieval church of Saint-Julien, the discovery of a cemetery and three granite sarcophagi dating from the High Middle Ages.

2008: François Hollande no longer mayor of Tulle

François Hollande was no longer the mayor of Tulle in 2008.

2011: Armaments manufacturing business site marked by museum

As of 2011, the site of a former significant armaments manufacturing business in Tulle is marked only by an armaments museum.

May 2012: François Hollande gives first speech as President

On 6 May 2012, the newly elected president, François Hollande, gave his first speech as President of the French Republic on the Cathedral Square in Tulle.

2012: François Hollande elected President of the Republic

In 2012, François Hollande, who had been Tulle's MP in the National Assembly of France for nearly 15 years and had also served as mayor of the town, was elected President of the Republic.