France/Caen agglomeration town struggles to revive its twinning with a village in Andalusia

In the summer of 2025, north of Caen (Calvados), the commune of Épron is doing all it can to re-launch its unusual twinning with Zufre, a Spanish village in Andalusia.

In 2007, north of Caen (Calvados), the commune of Épron signed a twinning charter with Zufre, a village in Andalusia, southern Spain. A partnership that has had its ups and downs, the Normandy town is trying to revive in the summer of 2025.

This act of friendship was originally spearheaded by Las Gemelas, an association that has since evolved into a twinning committee. The desire of both the young people and the elected representatives was to create exchanges between two countries, moving away from the more common alliances with England or Germany.

Difficulties due to distance

This option aroused considerable interest, as François Busnel, town councillor and president of the committee, recalls. "Zufre is a nice little Andalusian town, lost in the mountains, but quite dynamic, whose main activity is olive oil production.

The olive festival was one of the highlights of the meetings between the Norman-Andalusian delegations. The twinning had got off to a good start, but then ran into difficulties, mainly due to distance.

Zufre changed mayors and interest in the relationship fluctuated. In 2018, we left with around fifteen Épronnais with the idea of relaunching youth exchanges, but not much happened. For a whole host of reasons, including the cost of travel.

François Busnel

11 young Andalusians visit us this summer

Last February, a group of local elected representatives returned to Andalusia with the firm intention of establishing new contacts. Thanks to Angela, a young elected official from Zufre, and the involvement of Épron's elected representatives and families, the project to host a group of young Spaniards has become a reality.

At the beginning of July, eleven of them, aged 11 to 17, came with two accompanying adults. After some misgivings on the Spanish side, the family accommodation finally proved popular.

The program of visits, activities and reunions satisfied everyone. Mayor Franck Guéguéniat is keen to rekindle this twinning. He was part of the delegation that visited Zufre at the end of July:

We want to maintain this cultural exchange between communes, continue this new dynamic and help the people of Epronnais rediscover the existence of this twinning.

Franck Guéguéniat

Source: actu.fr/