By Darraghgirl
August 22 2015

When the ERCC draw was made the most tantalising of our away trips was Oyonnax – mainly because it’s somewhere new and interesting. However finding much out about Oyonnax is proving a bit difficult.

That fount of all knowledge, Wikipaedia, tells me that Oyonnax “is the second most populated commune in the Ain Department in the Rhone-Alpes region in eastern France.” Not terribly helpful that! It apparently has a prominent Plastics Industry and hence lies in the scenically named “plastics valley”. Not sounding too promising so far then. It is however very close to the Parc Naturel Regional de Haut-Jura which looks extremely pretty and which boasts a ski-resort at Les Rousses for those who like that sort of thing. They also offer Husky sledding (featuring driving with the “musher”), skating on the frozen lake (if it’s frozen), and sleigh-riding - oops not until January that one. In December we can expect a maximum temperature of 4C and a minimum of -1C (plus quite a lot of rain/snow) so bring your brolley!

Oyonnax is described as “a Community of Communes” which sounds like some sort of 60’s religious cult. Actually communes are just sort of country “parishes”. Hence a Community of Communes just means a federation of municipalities working together. Rather dull really.

Oyonnax sits at the Carrefour (which means crossroads – never knew that) of the regions of Rhone-Alpes, Bourgogne and Franche-Compte, and is the gateway to the Jura. It is 540 meters above sea level. One of the local specialties is “Sauce Nantua” which consists of crayfish, bechamel sauce and cream. Sounds promising! Better still it is usually served with lobster.

Oyonnax has a comb museum (bet you’ve never been to one of those). Or you could take part in a caning workshop (chairs that is). You could visit an exhibition on “The Nature of Art” in Nantua. A collection of 30 paintings by Guy Rachel Grataloup (local artist) together with a 20 sq m mosaic mural entitled “The Spirit of the Lake”.

Sadly I have to say that none of the “famous” citizens of Oyonnax has ever entered my conscience but for good measure they are Paul Collomb (painter – not my cup of tea really but look for yourself here http://www.pcollomb.com/), Leger-Felicite Sonthonax (not a horse race but a politician of the French revolution) and Eric Barone who went very fast on a bike on both snow and mud. There is a free town guide available which allows you to discover the “historical & archaeological landscape of downtown Oyonnax”. Unfortunately it is in French!

Oyonnax comes under the community of “Haut-Bugey” which includes the towns of Izernore, Nantua and Oyonnax. This is interesting as it is the site of the Ligne du Haut-Bugey, part of the Paris Geneva Railway line built in the 1870’s and including the Racourse Tunnel and the multi-arched Cize-Bolozon Viaduct which carries both the railway line and the road across the Ain River. One of the main reasons the railway was built was because of the Ice Harvesting Industry on the Lac du Sylans. If you fancy a trip along the line you need to know it is a bit accident prone with several fires, landslides & tunnel accidents. The Viaduct was bombed during the 2^nd world war and did not reopen again until 1950. Fortunately the line was upgraded and electrified by the Haut-Bugey project. A new “halte” was built at Nurieux-Volognat close to Oyonnax. The countryside around Haut Bugey (or the more interesting English version “Upper Bugey”) is full of lakes, trees, caves and gorges.

Bugey wine is produced locally. It is a small but richly varied wine-making area which finally (2009) has AOC status. Most Bugey wine is white but red, rose and sparkling wines are also produced. Nearby is the better known Savoie, mostly white wine but a few reds and a sparkling wine.

Oyonnax does have a claim to fame in that it was awarded the Medaille de Resistance in June 1947 (one of only 18 towns to be awarded the medal) recognising the role that the town and its people played on 11^th November 1943. Haut Bugey was a stronghold of resistance during WW2. Marshal Petain forbade any commemoration of the 25^th anniversary of the Armistice of 1918 but led by Colonel Henri Romans-Petit, local maquis leader, the citizens of Oyonnax, wearing blue berets and white scarves, marched along the streets of Oyonnax behind the (forbidden) French flag to the memorial where they held a minute’s silence, sang the (forbidden) Marseillaise and laid a wreath of flowers in the shape of the Cross of Lorraine which was inscribed “Les vanquers de demain a ceux de 14-18” (the conquerors of tomorrow to those of 14-18). They sang the song, popular in the franco-german war of 1871 “Vous n’aurez-pas l’Alsace et la Lorraine”. It was known as “Le defile” (The March). On 31^st December that year, 25,000 copies of a fake edition of Le Nouvelliste Newspaper were circulated detailing the March together with real news about the situation on the Italian Front and German air raids and stating that Marshal Petain had re established the French Republic. This dramatically changed the image of the Resistance movement and ultimately sped up the defeat of Germany. News of the March reached Winston Churchill in London and persuaded him to supply the resistance movement with ammunition which dramatically increased their contribution towards ending the war. The town was also awarded The Cross of War in 1948 by the French Government.

2014 was a big year for Oyonnax. The 11^th stage of the Tour de France departed from the town, the first time it had ever featured in the race. Oyonnax Rugby was promoted to the Top 14 for the 2013/14 season having won the D2 the year before. And not only did they avoid relegation, but a 6^th place finish in 2015 meant they qualified for the ERCC. Like Toulouse & Saracens (and Ulster if you include white) they play in red and black. Their home ground is Stade Charles-Mathon (capacity 11,400 so similar to Allianz) named from one of their famous pre-war players who played both 15 and 13 a side rugby before being killed in WW2.

And if all that hasn’t whetted (?) your appetite you can always stay in Geneva! It’s only 20 miles away.

Oyonnax v Saracens Sun 13^th December 2015 14.00.