Latest newsletter from Conflan Ste Honorine.
50th Anniversary of Le Pardon Nationale de la Batellerie
Friday 12th and Sunday 14th June 2009

Travelling to Conflans Ste Honorine
We met on Government Acre at 5.30am, 15 members of the Ramsgate Twinning Association (RTA) ready to travel to Conflans Ste. Honorine for this weekend of celebrations. Travelling by minibus kindly driven by our Membership Secretary and Conflans Co-ordinator, Steve Ward, we set off at 5.45am heading for the Channel Tunnel and our crossing to France.

Lighting of the torch at L'Arc de Triomphe
After a very pleasant lunch with Valerie Arnold, my host for the weekend, we assembled back at the Hotel de Ville just before 4.00pm for a coach journey into Paris for the ceremony of the lighting of the torch from the 'Eternal Flame' under the L'Arc de Triomphe.
This ride into Paris is always an exciting one with police outriders accompanying the convoy on its journey from Conflans into Paris.

Arriving in the Champs-Elysées we were in time to watch the parade of Fire Fighters (Pompiers), who were also holding a ceremony at the L'Arc de Triomphe.
Following their ceremony, it was our turn to form up for the parade for Le Pardon Nationale de la Batellerie. With the traffic halted by the Gendarme, we marched from the end of the Champs-Elysées to the Eternal Flame, which burns by the Tomb of the Unknown soldier under the Triumphal Arch.
After the torch was lit, Civic Dignitaries from Conflans, Chimay, Hannau -Grossauheim and Ramsgate together with representatives of the former combatant bargees laid floral tributes and wreaths.

Twinning Associations – Work Session
The major focus of this meeting was the joint youth project which had been initiated in 2007.
Mathias Hooper, from Chimay, updated the meeting on the status of applications for EU funding.
In order to qualify for funding each of the 4 towns must submit separate requests. However, these request must come from ideas and initiatives put forward by the youth of each town themselves, not from ideas put forward by the Twinning Associations.
We cannot say what they are going to do but can facilitate this, for example, through local Youth Workers.
To progress this further each of the 4 towns need to firstly engage their local youth and ensure this is what they want to do.

It was proposed that this should be done as a matter of urgency. Suggestions were that email exchanges between youth of the 4 towns should be encouraged as a start. It was hoped that this could be achieved in time for a meeting in November (over a weekend) where a youth worker/co-ordinator and one or two youth from each town could discuss and decide what project they wished to progress in the following year. This would then be progressed with a view to Chimay hosting the first week long project in July 2010, where each town would be represented by 5 youth plus their youth worker/coordinator. In subsequent years each of the other 3 towns would take it in turn to host a similar week to progress the projects.

The Mayor of Conflans Reception
Following the joint committee meeting we attended the drinks reception, also held at the MJC, hosted by the Mayor of Conflans, Philippe Esnol.

Here we were also able to view an art project produced by some of the Conflans Youth – an excellent selection of work, some of it based on the famous art work of Michelangelo in the Cistine Chapel.

Before the civic party left for lunch we stood on the steps leading to the grounds of the MJC for a group photograph.

Picnic in the grounds of MJC
Formalities over we were treated to a very pleasant picnic in the MJC grounds. Plentiful food and drink had been prepared by our host families - and exceedingly delicious it was too! We spent a very pleasant hour or two, in the warm sunshine, renewing old friendships and making new ones - truly twinning in action.

Finally, more than replete, we made our way down to watch the ceremony of the arrival of the torch flame on one of the barges.

Arrival of the Flame in Conflans
We watched the arrival of the flame from the footbridge just beyond the 'Promenade François Mitterrand', which afforded us a brilliant view of the whole ceremony.

The Barge carrying the flame, was accompanied down the Seine from Paris to Conflans by a procession of barges and fire-boats. The later of which were providing a water display as they travelled down the Seine and by the promenade.

The flame was received at the Barge Chapel before being paraded along the embankment, accompanied by civic dignitaries, service personnel, bargees and the people of Conflans to the Pontil where, during a short service, another flame was lit, from that carried from Paris, at the monument commemorating those who lost their lives in the two world wars and flowers were laid.

Dinner with our Twinning Host Families
After a very full day of activities, we met again at 8.00pm with our hosts at a restaurant for dinner. Ensuring that we had a mix of French and English at each of the 2 large tables provided ample opportunity to continue building and renewing friendships.

Some of the group decided that they wanted to go to the Johnny Clegg concert in the park and barely through the meal left at 11pm so that they could enjoy this concert. Others, continued at the restaurant until well after midnight before making our way back to welcome beds!

Sunday - Commemorative Service
On Sunday morning, there was an open air mass at the Pontil, prior to laying of wreaths, from the fire-boats, into the water at the junction of the rivers Seine and Oise.

Having attended this in previous years, we took the opportunity to visit the Chateau at Saint-Germain-en-laye and to take a look at some spectacular views over Conflans to Paris before returning to Conflans for 'Banquet de Pardon' a sumptuous banquet where speeches made, prizes awarded and gifts exchanged.

It was quite unexpected to hear my own name called as the Chairman of the Ramsgate Twinning Association and to be presented with a booklet about Conflans!

All too soon it was time to make our way home, after an interesting, somewhat tiring, but most enjoyable weekend.

There were, of course, many other activities and entertainments in and around the town on this special occasion in the bargees’ and town’s year.

Pauline Arthur (Chairman)

More information about Conflans Ste-Honorine can be found on the town's web site here.

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