Speaking to Prensa Latina about his trip to Cuba on Thursday, as part of a multi-party parliamentary delegation, the president of the Finance Committee of the French National Assembly explained the importance of this visit to defend the French tradition of respect for national sovereignty.

Coquerel stated that this parliamentary mission by the France-Cuba Friendship Group at the Assembly is a political trip to denounce the US blockade and hold talks on France’s role in recognizing that right to independence.

The rejection of Washington’s policy on Cuba is not only a matter of the left wing but the adoption of a sovereign stance in international relations, he said.

The blockade that the United States has imposed on Cuba for more than six decades has an extraterritorial component, tightened in recent years, and affects companies, banks, and citizens from other countries, especially Europe, including France.

The delegation also includes André Chassaigne, a member of the French Communist Party and president of the Friendship Group and the Democratic and Republican Left Group; Jean Pierre Cubertafon, a Democratic Movement MP and vice-president of the Defense Committee; and Roger Chudeau, a National Rally MP and member of the Education Committee.

The program from September 7 to 12 in Cuba will consist of several meetings and visits, including the National People’s Power Assembly, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Mariel Special Development Zone, and the southern city of Cienfuegos.

The visitors will also meet with officials from the French Embassy in Havana and French Development Agency (AFD) representatives to promote bilateral cooperation.

jg/iff/jf/wmr