San Diego announces Marseille, France as new sister city
SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) -- San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria recently announced a new partnership with a European city.
Marseille, the second most-populous city in France after Paris, is now San Diego's newest sister city, Gloria announced on social media on Thursday.
"This partnership strengthens our global leadership and creates tangible benefits here at home," Gloria stated.
The benefits, he added, include opening more doors for San Diego businesses and institutions, expanding tourism opportunities and exchange programs, and building ties between two port cities that both have strong maritime industries.
The Instagram account for the city of Marseille echoed the sentiment by America's Finest City.
"Marseille et San Diego ont signe aujord'hui un memorendum of understanding actant le jumelage entre les deux villes," it stated. In English, "Marseille and San Diego signed a memorandum of understanding today, confirming the pairing of the two cities."
"C'est la première fois que Marseille signe un accord de jumelage avec une ville nord-americaine," it continued. In English, "This is the first time that Marseille has signed a pairing agreement with a city in North America."
In a series of photos posted on Gloria's account, the San Diego mayor was seen signing the agreement with Benoît Payan, the mayor of Marseille. A post on Marseille's account also showed the two leaders exchanging gifts.
