France/ Côtes-d'Armor: "It's far away and it's -50 degrees", this unlikely twinning celebrates its 25th anniversary

The commune is twinned with the Canadian town of Whitehorse, in tribute to one of its illustrious inhabitants, Robert-William Service, the novelist and poet who died in Lancieux (Côtes-d'Armor).

In Lancieux (Côtes-d'Armor), the traditional flag-raising in the colors of Whitehorse (Yukon, Canada), on the 4th Monday of every August, had a special flavor this year: 2025 is, in fact, the year of the 25th anniversary of the twinning.

A far-fetched idea?

Officially 25 years, but the idea of twinning dates back to 1990, as Marie Conan, President of Rivages de Lancieux, the group behind the project, reminded us. "I happened to be in front of the tourist office when the plaque paying tribute to Robert-William Service was unveiled.

I was intrigued, did some research on this man and his country, the Yukon, and came up with the idea of this twinning. Marie Dagorne, president of the tourist office, who told me to draw up a draft of the project," says Marie, whose tenacity paid off."

"I pestered Guy Betaux, the mayor at the time, to get this twinning project off the ground. I remember him telling me: 'But it's far away, and it's cold, down to minus 50!

Twinning-tribute

In 1995, Larry Bagnell, Member of Parliament in Ottawa, came to Lancieux, and the twinning process continued with Yann Herry, current president of the Whitehorse twinning committee, visiting Lancieux every year.

In September 2000, the twinning arrangement was officially created, with the charter being read again, year after year, at the joint raising of the Whitehorse and Lancieux flags. Charlotte Longépé-Service, his great-granddaughter, took the opportunity to pay tribute to Robert-William Service by reading one of her grandfather's poems.

A visit from young Canadians

A text celebrating the Yukon Territory, "La loi du Yukon", in which Robert-William Service evokes the spirit of adventure of the pioneers of the Canadian territory.A text that evokes the spirit of adventure of the pioneers of the Canadian territory, "a text full of imagery, evoking the surpassing of oneself, a poem that satirizes the venality of men. A text sometimes violent in its terms", Charlotte contextualized.

To mark the occasion, a cake and candles were blown out by Delphine Briand, the mayor, and André Gilbert, her predecessor.

Each person attending the event was presented with a card illustrated by Charlotte with a quotation from her great-grandfather. And a pen as a bonus.

As for the twinning project, it's still going strong, with plans to bring young people from the Yukon to Lancieux.

Source: actu.fr/