"An evolving tie with a French city could make Charlottesville the first stop on a worldwide exhibition of drawings by Matisse, Rembrandt and others. Besançon, France, and Charlottesville are formalizing a “sister city” relationship. The Besançon mayor, Jean-Louis Fousseret, is in town this week for the first time.

“We’re very happy to be in Charlottesville today because many things unite us,” Fousseret said. In a world that moves so fast and tends toward self-interest, he said, “we think in an opposite way that we must develop international relationships.”

The two cities have myriad similarities, from being university towns to having similar populations and industries such as pharmaceuticals and microtechnology. A formal relationship could be finalized the next time Charlottesville leaders visit Besançon.

A delegation of business owners visited Besançon in 2002. A gospel choir plans to go there over the summer. Last month, apprentice mechanics and chefs from Besançon visited, and a group of teenagers plans to come this summer to learn English at the University of Virginia. The art exhibit is scheduled to come to the University of Virginia in the spring of 2005.

Councilor Blake Caravati said a dollmaker who visited Besançon in 2002 has been sending some of her dolls to sell there, and he knows a woman who is looking to translate Charlottesville authors to French.

No city money is being spent on the trip, except for small items such as a $70 present for the mayor, Caravati said. The exchange has been supported by the Association Franche-Comte-Virginie and the Alliance Francaise.

Charlottesville has a sister-city relationship with Poggio in Italy, though it does not seem to come up frequently. An attempt at a French sister city fizzled in the past because of lack of interest and contact. Besançon has a dozen sister cities in Africa, northern France and Italy. Charlottesville would be its first American sister city.

The mayor was scheduled to visit last year at this time, but the United States declared war in Iraq. Caravati said there may have been political motivation in the decision to delay the visit, but Besançon city manager Patrick Ayache said it was merely schedule differences. Ayache said he thinks it would be best if the cities focused on their economic and cultural exchanges rather than Iraq, but said he appreciated the city’s resolution against unilateral military action.

The second-to-last leg of the Tour de France bicycle race, the mountainous timed trial, starts and ends in Besançon. Fousseret said that if he is offered the opportunity to comment publicly on American favorite Lance Armstrong, he plans to mention his city’s link to Charlottesville." (Elizabeth Nelson, The Daily Progress, April 29, 2004)

Contact Elizabeth Nelson at (434) 978-7245 or enelson@dailyprogress.com.