Last updated at 19:49, Thursday, 19 July 2012

The Mayor of Workington was the special guest at Bastille Day celebrations in Workington’s twinned town of Val-de-Reuil.

GREETINGS: Andrew Lawson, Mayor of Workington, opening a renamed street in Workington's twinned town, Val-de-Reuil, with mayor Marc-Antoine Jamet

Andrew Lawson and six members of the Workington Twinning Association were invited to Val-de-Reuil by its mayor Marc-Antoine Jamet for France’s national holiday.

Bastille Day represents the celebration of the storming of the Bastille fortress in 1789 and the birth of modern France.

The group from Workington arrived last Friday and were treated to a fireworks display and the signing of the British and French national anthems.

On Saturday a ceremony was held at the Place of Peace, where both mayors laid wreaths to mark Bastille Day.

Afterwards they were taken to a concourse outside the town hall which had been renamed Esplanade de Workington.

On Sunday and Monday the group were taken on a tour of Paris and a Ministry of Defence site.

First published at 19:20, Thursday, 19 July 2012
Published by http://www.timesandstar.co.uk