Initial links between Inverness and St. Valery were created when the 51st Highland Division were captured there in 1940 by the Germans. The local people were very kind to the troops and the favour was returned when the Division returned in 1944, led by General Lang, and liberated the town.

More than 80% of St. Valery was destroyed in the war and a special fund was set up in Inverness in order to send aid to the stricken town, in a gesture of continuing fellowship. There have been many visits over the years between the two towns, mainly to the war graves and memorials, but twinning was not officially undertaken until 1987.

St. Valery is a small town on the Normandy coast, the Cote d’Albatre, of France, situated between the two major ports of Dieppe and Le Havre. It is thought to have been founded by Benedictine monks along ago as 990 AD. It is a small fishing port situated in a sheltered basin in the midst of cliffs, and although there is a certain amount of fishing and fish landings, its main business is tourism.

St, Valery dates its development as a tourist resort as far back as the turn of the century and remains a busy tourist area today. It has a population of around 6000.

St. Valery-en-Caux twinning is administered by the Mairie with a local committee.