France/Petite-Forêt prepares to celebrate 50 years of twinning with the town of Correzzola

Petite-Forêt is gearing up for a major event in 2026, celebrating 50 years of friendship and twinning with the Italian town of Correzzola.

Last April, the municipality of Petite-Forêt welcomed a delegation from Correzzola with Ottimo Cominato, president of the Italian twinning committee, and Federico Cechetto, treasurer. Objective: to organize the 50th anniversary and renew ties with Correzzola. The pandemic had severed all ties .

In 1976, the twinning agreement between the two towns was signed, marking the beginning of a profound relationship of friendship, collaboration and cultural exchange. Mirella Bauwens, president of the Petite-Forêt committee, and Elisabeth Séreuse, deputy mayor for associations and festivities, are actively preparing the upcoming anniversary. The 50th anniversary program is currently being drawn up.

The long journey of footballers that sealed friendship

On Friday, October 9, 1976, when the Atlas soccer teams, led by Honorary President René Clinquart and the soccer club's directors, gathered on the platform of Valenciennes station, none of the participants imagined that this long 19-hour train journey to Italy would lead to a twinning. Yet only one person knew that Italian families there would welcome them with open arms. The instigator of this journey was Serge Pipinato, a native of Correzzola and manager of the Atlas store (located at the time near Auchan on the commercial zone).

In both matches, the Petite-Forêt players, tired from the journey, lost. Once the competition was over, friendship took over. During a reception at the town hall, the mayor of Correzzala presented the Petite-Forêt delegation with a plaque formalizing the friendship between the two communes. A first step had been taken.

One year later, on May 14, 15 and 16 1977, Petite-Forêt welcomed a large delegation from Correzzola. Yves Leleu, the mayor at the time, and his Italian counterpart sealed the pact of friendship that has lasted for fifty years, and which Sandrine Gombert, the current mayor, wishes to perpetuate.

Source: www.lavoixdunord.fr/