Here’s a fascinating photo of the liberation celebrations of Descartes in on a sunny autumn day in September 1944.
The population of Descartes at the time was about 1,500 and it seems that up to a half of them were in the town square to celebrate.
The resistance against Nazi occupation was well organised in the district as the Conte-Freslon and, among other actions, on 31st August 1944 the Forces Françaises de l’Intérieur (F.F.I.) blew up the town’s bridge, Pont Henri IV, on the Vienne/Buxeuill side of the Creuse. Naturally, the local resistance fighters were represented in the Liberation celebrations and you can see that they are still operational and carrying their weapons.
See also my following posts:
Social history in the Touraine ~ Central France 
Really their finest hour…