Analyst: French president needs to be tactful in Cuba
Caroline Roux, 43, is a longtime political reporter in France, active on radio and TV. In her Europe One Radio program “Les Secrets Politiques” on Friday (April 24), she gave some insight on President François Hollande’s upcoming trip to Cuba. Progreso Weekly has transcribed and translated that section of the program. The translator’s clarifications appear [in brackets].
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This will be the first visit by a French head of state to the island since the 1959 Cuban revolution. Suffice it to say that François Hollande’s trip, scheduled for May 11, is being prepared with the utmost meticulousness, right down to the millimeter.
French diplomacy is watching out for anything that might antagonize the Cubans, against the background of a thaw in relations between the United States and the Caribbean island state.
Thus, François Hollande (shown in photo above) will attend an economic forum on the morning of May 11. But as explained to Europe One by a minister who will travel with the president, “it’s not a question of unpacking our trinkets to make money, as we usually do.”
France must show that it wants to support Cuba in its development, saying that it recognizes the achievements of the revolution. In short, it will be necessary to go through the formalities.
The economic issue is real. Admittedly, several French groups are already well established on the spot, such as [the distillery] Pernod Ricard, Bouygues [construction and media] and Accor [hotels]. But there are still partnerships to forge, among others in agriculture, the automotive sector, telephony and capital goods.
A meeting with Fidel Castro? The program of the visit will be fairly standard and will conclude with a state dinner hosted by Raul Castro. But one image could make a big impression: that of a meeting between François Holland and Fidel Castro, the brother of the Cuban president, who delegated his power to [Raúl] in 2008.
A meeting is under consideration but is unforeseeable. First, because the health of the “Máximo Líder” remains fragile, but mainly for diplomatic reasons.
“One does not ask for an interview with Fidel Castro; one let’s it come,” whispers a former official at the Quai d’Orsay [Foreign Ministry].
At the Elysée [Palace], I was told that if the opportunity arises, François Holland would be delighted. Since Fidel Castro is very committed to environmental issues, from the perspective of the climate conference set for December in Paris, a handshake would be interpreted as significant support.
