France’s Hollande arrives in Cuba on historic visit

Francois Hollande arrived in Havana, the first French president to visit Cuba in more than a century, cementing Paris’s lead in the EU rapprochement with the communist island.

Hollande is the first Western leader to visit Cuba since a surprise announcement in December by Havana and Washington that the former Cold War foes would move to normalize relations after half a century of bad blood.

Hollande arrived at Havana’s Jose Marti International Airport at 22:50 (0250 GMT Monday) and was greeted by Cuba’s Deputy Foreign Minister Rogelio Sierra, the latest leg of a whirlwind five-day tour of the Caribbean.

“I come to Cuba with great emotion because it is the first time that a president of the French Republic has come to Cuba,” he has said on arrival.

No French leader has visited Cuba since the island nation gained independence in 1898.

“There are historic ties, deep ties, between the people of France and the people of Cuba,” said Hollande, applauding Cuba’s long-time commitment to independence.

The visit is aimed at boosting French and European Union interests in Cuba, which has undergone gradual economic and social reforms under Castro.