A French community is being created on the Cyclades - Sifnos island.
"Well, why does Sifnos have so many French tourists ?" asked a friend recently who spent his summer holidays on the beautiful island of the Cyclades.
In recent years, more and more French people have found their own "refuge" in Sifnos, with the advertising on the island spreading by word of mouth. Thus, every year many choose to rent or even buy a residence to enjoy the beaches and the food of the place.
However, there is another reason why Sifnos has now become so well known in France.
You see, the Greek island decided to sign a friendship pact four years ago with a small French village of 2,500 inhabitants—Monflanquin, which has been voted several times among the most beautiful towns in France.
With a desire to be extroverted and exchange experiences with other European Municipalities, the Municipality of Sifnos sought an area with characteristics and objectives similar to those of Sifnos to proceed with a movement with cultural, social and economic value, such as that of twinning Municipalities which motivates and strengthens joint actions, events and collaborations between the residents and agencies of the participating areas.
According to the official website of the municipality of Sifnos, the municipality of Monflanquin in France was chosen for the optional "kinship", which gladly accepted the proposal of the Greek island.
The joint decision to strengthen the relations of the two municipalities was formalised with their twinning, which was done to European standards, through the competent Twinning body and concluded with a mutual visit of the two delegations to the two Municipalities (September 2019 and February 2020) and the signing of the "Friendship Pact" between them.
It states, among other things: "Convinced that through meetings organised between people of different origins, adults, young people and associations, we can develop a better knowledge of each other and live together more harmoniously, it seems to us today more important than ever to create strong ties with different populations as well, especially with Europeans.
"In this way, we want to strengthen the foundations of a peaceful and united Europe. In this way, in terms of our abilities and the means that allow us, our communities are committed to developing fraternal relations and solidarity in the cultural, economic, tourist and sports fields.
"The focus is mainly on the meeting between young people and the participation of everyone at the level of residents and institutions."
It is worth noting that a sign with French flags and a reference to Monflanquin has now been placed outside the offices of the Sifnos municipality in Apollonia. Somehow, more and more French people learn about the Cycladic island every year and book their holidays early to visit it.
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