In 1967, Louis Cloarec, President of the Department of the Deportees of Labour on a mission in Dortmund, learned that a neighbouring town was looking for a French “partner” with a view to twinning.

Back in Anjou, he told his friend Henri David, Mayor of Montreuil-Belfroy. These two men, believing that the future of French and German youths depended on a greater mutual knowledge, decided to start talks with a view to a rapprochement. The town of Kamen was contacted and sent representatives of its municipality to ensure the good intentions of Montreuil-Belfroy.

After some working meetings, a delegation from Montreuil was invited to visit Kamen in August. It was during this trip to Germany that the principle of a twinning between Kamen and Montreuil-Belfroy was retained. At a meeting of the Montreuil-Belfroy Town Council, the question was raised and the project adopted. One year later, the official documents were signed.

January 1969 : Exchange of the twinning documents in Montreuil-Belfroy

The 2 cities involved Kamen, an important city of 20,000 inhabitants, is located at the end of the Ruhr industrial basin. Situated on two motorway routes, north-south and east-west, and on a major railway line, it lives from coal, small-scale industry and agriculture.

Montreuil-Belfroy, a municipality of 3,000 inhabitants, lives on industry and agriculture.

 This disparity in size will not worry the protagonists of this union. They had faith and they were right. The number of exchanges continued to grow, whether in groups, with associations or with individuals.

The first meeting of school teachers in Kamen in 1988.

In 1994, the twinning committee took over all the children’s correspondence. The MJ teachers were no longer willing to play the game as volunteers, especially at weekends.

An important meeting in 1994 was the visit of the people from Kamen and their stay in St Brévin. The CDJ set up the Saint-Martin and Saint-Nicolas celebrations for the children of CM1-CM2. Traditional German festival. A flea market (Flohmarkt) for the children of the commune.

1999 was the year of change: several experiments had been tried in liaison with the school world, but each time the cumbersome system, the programmes, the timetables, the dates of holidays brought such constraints that the exchanges were no longer successful. The CDJ found a solution: to take advantage of leisure time by setting up a correspondence group which meets once a month in a local hall after school hours.

The twinning celebrates its anniversaries every 5 years, alternating between Montreuil-Juigné and Kamen.

In Montreuil-Juigné: 10 years in 1978, 20 years in 1988, 30 years in 1998, 40 years in 2008 and 50 years in 2018.

In Kamen: 15 years in 1983, 25 years in 1993, 35 years in 2003, 45 years in 2013.

These are opportunities to see each other, to look back, to look forward… and to celebrate together. Each time, several coaches bring the visitors for 3 days of exchanges and family meetings during the Ascension weekend. The 55th anniversary is being prepared for 2023.