by Dominique Bailly, Mayor of Orchies (France)
and Christian Massy, Mayor of Tournai (Belgium)

The one thing that we are sure of: the Tour de France will definitely leave from Rotterdam in 2010. But after that, anything could happen…
This is why, after having made our official joint application in February 2008 to the ASO, we have decided to create a committee to support it.

We have been meeting regularly in our town halls with elected members, cyclists and journalists to present our project: to host an arrival in Tournai on the boulevards, and a departure the next morning from Orchies. The cross-border aspect of this joint application makes it exceptional. We have already met with Christian Prudhomme, the Director of the Tour who particularly appreciated this difference.

In the meantime a whole Euroregion is being mobilised. On the French side, authorities for the Region, the Département and Orchies town, and on the Belgian side, the Province of Hainaut, Wallonie Picarde, the Town of Tournai and the Lille-Kortrijk-Tournai Eurodistrict… The regional councillor and the elected members for the Province, Serge Hustache and Richard Willame, have already confirmed their support. Local cyclists’ associations are involved and soon the business world will also be supporting our application.

This project is part of a wide range of cross-border and European cooperation activities drawing on the energy and enthusiasm that is characteristic of the two towns.

We are the first in the history of the Tour to institute this kind of project. We are proud of this initiative and would like to share it with you.

Please come and join us to form a united front and support our application - a symbol of cooperation on both sides of the frontier – a symbol of Europe.

Support us

Would you like to support our application? Please complete this form to give your support to Orchies and Tournai to host the arrival of the Tour de France in Tournai and its departure the following day from Orchies.