New Rochelle Celebrates French Sister City On Bastille Day

NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. – New Rochelle celebrated its rich, esteemed history with its European Sister City on Tuesday, with a ceremonial raising of the French flag in honor of Bastille Day.

New York State Assemblyman Steve Otis, Iona College Professor Michael J. Hughes, City Manager Charles B. Strome, III, and Mayor Noam Bramson with members of the New Rochelle Sister City Committee.
Photo Credit: *Contributed*

Alexandre and Sabrina Sherman raise the French flag in New Rochelle.
Photo Credit: *Contributed*

City of New Rochelle flag.
Photo Credit: *Contributed*

Professor Michael J. Hughes, Associate Professor of History at Iona College, delivers the keynote address, "France: The Indispensable Ally in the Struggle for American Independence" in New Rochelle.
Photo Credit: *Contributed*

Zak Failla

07/14/2015 6:30 a.m.

On Tuesday, local officials and dignitaries flocked to City Hall for the ceremony, which celebrated New Rochelle’s founding by the Huguenots more than 325 years ago.

Each year, city officials take the time to celebrate the French national holiday, which commemorates the Storming of Bastille on July 14, 1789, the culmination of a revolution, unifying the people of France.

Each year, a Bastille Day ceremony is hosted in the city to celebrate the bond between New Rochelle and its sister city La Rochelle, in France. s

The ceremony included remarks from New Rochelle Mayor Noam Bramson and Sister City Initiative member Sheila Sarker. Michael J. Hughes, a professor of history at Iona College, presented the keynote address, “France: the Indispensable Ally in the Struggle for American Independence,” with closing comments from City Manager Chuck Strome III.

Alexandre and Sabrina Sherman, from the French-American School of New York in Mamaroneck raised the French flag at City Hall while those in attendance sang the French and American national anthems.

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