Seattle's French Connection

Did you know that Seattle has a partnership with a city in France? Nantes, a city along the Loire River in the western part of the country, is one of our 20 sister cities worldwide, in places as diverse as Poland, Kenya, Cambodia, and Uzbekistan.

Sister cities have been around for decades, created through formal partnerships between two countries. They promote cross-cultural awareness and diplomatic ties. Every sister city organization or alliance does things differently and varies in how active they are, but what they all share is a mission to connect people in other parts of the world and learn more about each other.

This year marked the 45th anniversary of the Seattle-Nantes relationship. To celebrate, the Seattle-Nantes Sister City Association (SNSCA) organized a weeklong trip earlier this month, sending a 15-member delegation to France along with Seattle City Council member Joy Hollingsworth, chef Kristi Brown, artist Barbara Earl Thomas, and association president Susan Kegel for institutional, artistic, and gastronomic exchange.

Several people prepare small bowls of food on a long wooden table outdoors, while a woman in an apron smiles at the camera in the foreground.

Chefs Kristi Brown and Lucie Berthier-Gembara prepare dinner together in Nantes during the sister city celebration.

Photo courtesy of Seattle-Nantes Sister City Association

Delegates from Washington State interacted with French officials like Pierre-Emmanuel Marais, Deputy Mayor in charge of International Relations; Mariette Cassourret; and the president of La Maison des États-Unis (United States House). Speeches touched on themes like shared values, amity and strengthening ties for the future.

Perhaps most notable of the events was the unveiling of the new “Jardin de Seattle” (Garden of Seattle), a plot of land over 5,000 square feet that was inaugurated on Sept. 6 in Nantes inside the Grand-Blottereau Park. The garden gates were designed by multidisciplinary artist and lifelong Seattle resident Barbara Earl Thomas, who was selected from dozens of applicants. Thomas did not pre-plan her design and instead began with freehand etching on paper with an X-Acto knife, leading to intricate imagery on both sides of the doors. Birds, fruits, plants, and people are all part of the art.

Two intricately cut metal panels with botanical designs stand slightly apart in front of a blue and white artwork on a wall in a minimalist gallery space.

Two photos: left shows an arched, intricate metal screen art piece; right shows a person standing beside the screen, gesturing, inside a gallery space.

Seattle artist Barbara Earl Thomas with the intricately cut steel gates designed for the Jardin de Seattle.

Photo courtesy of Seattle-Nantes Sister City Association

“The garden and my making of the gates symbolize the seeds we plant, the shared earth we tend and the relationships, we nurture and hold dear,” says Thomas. “Our future survival is in keeping that faith and passing it on.” The design was shipped overseas and transferred onto steel.

The garden also involved a team of professionals like French landscaper Sébastien Floch, who helped devise the plan and lay out the grounds, and Seattle-based specialist Ray Larson, Curator of Living Collections at the University of Washington, who was consulted on the flora and fauna and was instrumental in helping to import everything overseas. Cosmic Crisp apples (not grown in Europe but local to Seattle) and cranberries were planted in the garden, further illustrating the horticultural homage to Seattle.

A group of people gather near a decorative gate adorned with greenery on a dirt path in a park under a clear blue sky.

People walking and relaxing in a park with green bushes, trees, and cloudy sky in the background.

Informational display board about "Le Jardin Nourricier de Seattle" (The Seattle Garden), featuring text, a list of plants grown, and a cityscape photo that links the garden to both Seattle and inspiration from France.

“I think it demonstrates the importance of the relationship that we’ve had for so many years,” President Kegel says, reflecting on the effort it took for Nantes to open the garden—three years in the making—and what it represents. “It’s a lasting symbol. It’s free and open to the public. So for years and years and years, people walking through the garden in Nantes will be reminded of our sister city relationship.”

“This park is more than a space,” Councilwoman Hollingsworth says, emphasizing the special nature of the area, forged in friendship. “It is a living bridge between our city, Seattle, and Nantes.”

Some of the events throughout the week included a visit to the 2,000-year-old salt marshes and a 500-year-old castle, as well as a performance by guitarist Dïe Morg, who covered Seattle-inspired hits from bands like Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains, and Soundgarden—a nod to the birthplace of grunge. Morg also paid tribute to a song by Jimi Hendrix, who grew up in Seattle. During the evening of the garden opening, chefs and restaurateurs Kristi Brown (of the Central District’s Communion) and Lucie Berthier-Gembara (Sépia) collaborated on a five-course meal that toasted Franco-American ties in an edible fusion of cultures.

So what’s in store for Seattle’s future with Nantes? A French delegation has plans to visit in mid-October. And next spring, local artist Suze Woolf will be collaborating with French artist Eric Fontenau in Seattle for an exhibition on nature. An environmental forum between the two locales is also slated for 2026.

In light of current diplomatic uncertainties, this trip is of particular importance as it offers a positive side of international connections and shows Seattle actively weaving itself into the global tapestry.