French president to make historic visit to Cuba in May

French President François Hollande will travel to Cuba on May 11 in the course of a visit to the Antilles, May 8-10, the Elysée Palace announced on Tuesday (March 3) in a three-paragraph communiqué. The French newspaper Le Figaro described the visit as “a new stage in the diplomatic warming between Cuba and the West.”

The possibility of a visit was raised right after Dec. 17, when Presidents Castro and Obama announced the start of a new relationship between their two countries. Asked at the time if he would considering traveling to the island, Hollande replied that “France has always had diplomatic relations with Cuba.

“President Fidel Castro has come to France on several occasions, so there’s no need for me to hasten. Barack Obama’s gesture is important and permits the creation of a détente. The Cold War must be ended once and for all,” Holland said.

Fidel Castro was in Paris in March 1995, ostensibly on a private three-day visit, but was welcomed with official ceremony by then-President François Mitterrand.

Hollande’s visit is unprecedented. No French president has ever stepped foot on the island. No European president has done so since Dec. 17.

On May 9, Hollande will be in Martinique, presiding over a regional summit in preparation for the COP 21 conference on global climate, to be held in Paris. One day later, while in Guadeloupe, he will inaugurate a memorial to the victims of slavery.

Coincidentally, today (March 4), the European Union and Cuba are resuming their talks aimed at normalizing trade relations. The dialogue will proceed for two days in Havana, held by European negotiator Christian Leffler and the Cuban deputy foreign minister, Abelardo Moreno.

This round of talks had been scheduled for last December but was postponed by Cuba in anticipation of the Dec. 17 announcement by Castro and Obama.

According to the Cuban news agency AIN, France is Cuba’s 10th-ranking trade partner in global terms. In terms of Europe, France ranks fourth.

Some 60 French firms are active on the island, AIN says, either through partnerships with local businesses or through representation or branch offices.

[Photo on top of French President François Hollande.]