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 Cuba |  France |
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Cuba–France relations are the diplomatic relations betweenCuba andFrance. Both nations are members of theUnited Nations.
Soon after Cuba was colonized and incorporated into theSpanish Empire, there had been several contacts between Cuba and France. The first initial French contact with Cuba was in 1554 when French pirateJacques de Sores (under the commission of KingFrancis I of France to raid Spanish ships and territories of gold) raided the Cuban city ofSantiago de Cuba. In 1555, Sores also attacked and burnedHavana.[1] In 1791, during the initial stages of theHaitian Revolution, several thousand French and Haitian-bornFrench citizens sought refugee in Cuba to escape the war. During 1800–1809, over 20,000 French, creoles and former slaves immigrated fromHaiti to Cuba.[2]
During theSpanish–American War (April - August 1898), France (along with theUnited Kingdom andGermany) urged Spain to end the war with theUnited States and to relinquish its territories of Cuba, thePhilippines,Puerto Rico andGuam. The end of the war was finalized by the signing of theTreaty of Paris in December 1898.[3] After the war, Cuba became a territory of the United States. In 1902, Cuba became an independent nation.
In January 1959, after theCuban Revolution,Fidel Castro came to power on the island-nation. Initially, French intellectuals and writers were intrigued with the new change in Cuba. In 1960, French philosopherJean-Paul Sartre and French writerSimone de Beauvoir paid a visit to Cuba and met with President Fidel Castro and Argentine-born Cuban revolutionary hero,Ernesto "Che" Guevara.[4] In 1962, during theCuban Missile Crisis, French PresidentCharles de Gaulle supported the United States on the blockade of Cuba to prevent more missiles from landing on the island.[5]
During a world tour in December 1964, Cuban diplomat Che Guevara paid an official visit to France. In October 1974, asFirst Secretary of the French Socialist Party,François Mitterrand (and futurePresident of France), paid an official visit to Cuba for a week and was given a state visit in the country.[6] In 1995, President Fidel Castro paid his first official visit to France and met with French President François Mitterrand.[7] Fidel would return to France the following year to attend the funeral for Mitterrand.[6]
In July 2015 during theCuban thaw, France sought closer relations with Cuba. In May 2015, French PresidentFrançois Hollande became the first French head-of-state to visit Cuba.[8] In February 2016, Cuban PresidentRaúl Castro reciprocated the visit to France.[9] In May 2018, French Foreign MinisterJean-Yves Le Drian paid a visit to Cuba.[10]
High-level visits from Cuba to France[7][9]
High-level visits from France to Cuba[9]
Both nations have signed several bilateral agreements such as an Agreement on Science, Technology and the Environment (2015); Agreement on Tourism (2016); Agreement on Trade (2016); Agreement on Agricultural Cooperation (2016) and an Agreement on Joint Oil Exploration in theGulf of Mexico (2016).[11][8]
In 2016, over 200,000 French citizens visited Cuba for tourism.[9] There are direct flights between Cuba and France with the following airlines:Air Caraïbes,Air France,Corsair International andCubana de Aviación.
In 2016, trade between Cuba and France totaled €209 million Euros.[12] Cuba's main exports to France include: fish, rum and cigars. France's main exports to Cuba include: cereals, chemical based products, automobile parts, dairy products, industrial and agricultural machinery and communication equipment.[13] France is Cuba's eleventh largest trading partner globally. French multinational companies such asPernod Ricard andTotal S.A. operate in Cuba.[9]
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