Twinning with La Rochelle

2023 Visit to La Rochelle

Twinning with the Rotary Club of La Rochelle-Aunis

From its earliest days Rotary has had as one of its goals the advancement of International peace and goodwill. Rotary has five Avenues of Service which are the framework for the work of a club. The 4th Avenue of Service is International Service and comprises those activities of the members which advance international understanding, goodwill and peace. This is done by fostering acquaintance of people in other countries, their cultures and customs.

To this end the Rotary Club of Falmouth is twinned with the Rotary Club of La Rochelle-Aunis, one of the two clubs in that town in the Charente-Maritime region of western France. Every other year a twinning event is held which involves a group of members from our club visiting La Rochelle. We normally travel with our spouses/partners and stay in the homes of French Rotarians and enjoy a very social weekend. Over the years some very strong and lasting friendships have thus been made. On the alternate years a party of Rotarians from La Rochelle will similarly visit us in Falmouth. These twinning visits commenced in 1979 and have been well supported over the years.

Despite the distance between us our two clubs have contributed to each others projects which notably included a group of our members visiting a water aid project in Morocco being organised by the Rotary Club of La Rochelle.

Visit UPDATES:

May 2023

Falmouth Rotarians visited La Rochelle to join in a Tree Planting project, visit a whiskey factory and enjoy the sunshine and beauty of the ancient town.

May 2022

The Rotarians from La Rochelle were finally able to visit after two years of Covid restrictions. Visits were made to the Eden Project, a tin mine, as well as an enjoyable dinner at La Peniche restaurant. Our Club was delighted to present a cheque to La Rochelle as part of a global grant towards planting 1000 trees.