English
Town twinning can be seen as the first activity to involve municipal institutions as such in wide-ranging and long-term international action by councilors. Twinning fits Eric Hobsbawmâ??s definition of an invented tradition. The invention of town twinning cannot be studied without a profound knowledge of the dynamic political tensions which emerged in the Cold War French political scene. Mobilizations led to a big turn in common interpretations of the municipal law. The study of this process helps understand the institutional change which made possible the rise of paradiplomacy in France.
