France/ Twinning between towns: where does it come from and what's it for?
At the entrance to each town, a sign lists the twinned towns. But what's the point of this agreement? Le Maine Libre answers.
How did twinned towns come about? The Association française du conseil des communes et régions d'Europe (AFCCRE), founded in 1951 and the driving force behind the network, explains: "The real boom in international relations between towns came after the Second World War, with the desire to contribute to peace through the construction of Europe. First between a few cities in the Allied countries, then between the six founding states of the European Union, notably Germany and France. [...]
Twinning is the meeting of two municipalities that intend to join forces to act in a European perspective, to confront their problems and to develop increasingly close ties of friendship between them".
So it was after the 39-45 war, in a spirit of reconciliation and rapprochement between peoples, that twinning between towns was born (cooperation had existed before, but not necessarily with a legal framework like this one, editor's note). At first on a European scale, and later on an international one. In this spirit of appeasement, twinnings between France and Germany abounded in the early days.
"One third of all twinnings were with Germany".
What are the current figures? Our country has more than 4,200 twinned communes (out of a total of around 36,000) spread across the country," AFCCRE reported in 2023. While a third of these twinnings are with Germany, most of the French communes' partners are located in five of the seven countries bordering France. So, not only proximity but also cultural affinities have greatly influenced French communes in their choice of partners.
In addition, the large number of communes in our neighboring countries and the similarity of their organizational structures have facilitated the development of twinning arrangements with these countries. On the other hand, there are fewer partnerships with more distant countries, which are organized differently and have few communes.
Beyond the "bonds of friendship", towns are joining forces to develop different aspects of their partnership: educational, sporting, cultural, tourist, economic... Bridges facilitated by this signed agreement. It should be noted that it is the town council that decides on such a project: "The general financing of twinning and partnership activities is the responsibility of the local authorities that set them up and the structures that run them".
The fields of action are as varied as the exchanges themselves. For example, "a school can contact the town hall that has privileged contacts with its twinned town or towns. In this way, a partnership can lead to student mobility abroad", explains the French Association of the Council of European Municipalities and Regions.
State of play in Sarthe
In Sarthe, 69 towns (out of 352) appear in the directory of French twinned towns dated January 6, 2023. In other words, almost 20% of the communes in the département are cooperating with one or more foreign towns. Le Mans currently has five partners, a record in the 72: with Paderborn in Germany, Tudela in Spain, Volos in Greece, Bolton in the UK and Rostov-on-Don in Russia. The latter association has been the subject of debate since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, with the town hall stating that it has "broken off all contact" since the conflict broke out.
Le Mans is about to seal its sixth official twinning, the first on the American continent, with Indianapolis in the USA. The announcement was made at the city council meeting on Thursday, March 27, 2025, as the two cities each host one of the world's greatest motor races, and have decided to forge a special relationship in this regard. Le Mans, home of the 24 Hours, and Indianapolis, scene of the famous 500 miles.
This rapprochement "is not just a symbolic link. It will also foster cultural, educational and economic exchanges that will bring lasting benefits to our communities", the city hopes.
In addition to the twinning concept, a solidarity pact was also signed between Le Mans and Haouza, a village in the Western Sahara, on January 10, 1982. Xianyang in China and Suzuka in Japan are listed as "friendly cities" on the Le Mans website.
Finally, the Franco-German twinning between Sablé-sur-Sarthe and Bückeburg, which came into effect in 1966, is the oldest in the département.
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Source: www.ouest-france.fr/
