Mayor of Montrose’s French twin is proud of historical connection

The Mayor of a French city twinned with Montrose has spoken of his pride at the historical link.

Damien Delrue, Mayor of Luzarches, was speaking after the dust settled on a recent visit to Montrose where he said his delegation were “received like princes”.

The twinning started when Catherine Leduc from Luzarches came to Montrose to spend a year as an assistant at Montrose Academy.

Her father Alain Leduc, headmaster of primary school Louis Jouvet in Luzarches, came over to Montrose to visit her.

He was then introduced to the then-headmaster of Lochside Primary Peter Andrews.

Both men wanted to establish a link between their two schools which led to a series of exchange trips.

Montrose Community Council adopted the idea of the link and the twinning charter was signed in May 1994.

A new section of the south Montrose spine road was recently renamed in honour of the twin town.

Mayor Delrue said: “The twinning with Montrose remains a strong, historical link, imprinted from fraternity, sharing and cultural exchanges.

“The inhabitants of Luzarches, who have not had the chance to shudder to the sound of bagpipes, are proud to know that the city they’re living in is today the name of a street in a neighbouring country, a friendly city.

“This trip, during which we were received like princes, sharing moments of joy, emotion and sincere friendliness, definitely strengthened the bonds between our two communities.”