Editing Deutsche Mark (section)

===Currency union with the Saarland===
The population in the [[Saar (protectorate)|Saar Protectorate]] rejected in a referendum the proposal to turn it into a "European territory". Despite French pre-referendum claims that a "no" vote would mean that the Saar would remain a French [[protectorate]] it in fact resulted in the incorporation of the Saar into the [[West Germany|Federal Republic of Germany]] on 1 January 1957. The new German [[States of Germany|member state]] of the [[Saarland]] maintained its currency, the [[Saar franc]], which was in a currency union at par with the [[French franc]]. On 9 July 1959 the Deutsche Mark replaced the Saar franc at a ratio of 100 francs = DM&nbsp;0.8507.