Montpellier

2021-02-10 00:57:32
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About the city

 

Montpellier is a city in southern France and is the capital of the Languedoc-Roussillon region. It is the seventh largest city in France and has been the fastest growing in the country over the past 25 years. Furthermore, it is located on the south coast of France on the Mediterranean Sea, which makes it the third largest French city on the Mediterranean coast after Marseille and Nice. Nearly one third of the population in Montpellier is made up of students from three universities and three educational institutions located inside the city.

 

During the nineteenth century, the city developed into an industrial center, as it thrived on the wine culture, which was able to be produced due to the abundance of sun throughout the year. The wine consumption in France allowed Montpellier's citizens to become very wealthy, until in the 1890's a fungal disease had spread amongst the vineyards and the people were no longer able to grow the grapes needed for wine. In the 1960s, its population grew dramatically after French settlers in Algeria were resettled in the city following Algeria's independence from France

 

 

About the twinning agreement

 

In February 2012, a twinning agreement was signed in Bethlehem between Mrs. Hélène Mandroux, the then Mayor of Montpellier, and Mr. Victor Batarseh, the then Mayor of Bethlehem, following a visit from the Deputy Mayor of Montpellier to Bethlehem in October 2011.

 

In May 2012, Montpellier agreed to finance the publication of a book on the history of Bethlehem between the years 1880 – 1960. In June 2013, an invitation was sent to Bethlehem to participate in the “Montpellier Sister Cities Festival” and four artists/musicians from Bethlehem were able to attend. Moreover, a delegation from Bethlehem was invited to a “MediverCities” conference held in Sarajevo in May 2013, which intended to bring together local governments from the Mediterranean basin around the theme of preserving biodiversity. In April 2014, Montpellier invited a team of 14 young football players to take part in its 48th football tournament, and another one in the 49th tournament. Moreover, in October of the same year, a delegation from the local youth council participated in a conference in Montpellier. Montpellier gave a scholarship for a degree in Tourism for the years 2013-2015 and 2015-2017.

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