Havana--The European Union suspended relations with Cuba in 2003 over a crackdown on journalists and activists, but it opened talks to restore ties in April 2014, aiming to persuade Havana to improve its rights record.
It was under the French presidency of the EU in 2008 that political dialogue was first resumed between Brussels and Havana.
France, which has made its relations with Latin America and the Caribbean a foreign policy priority, has along with the Netherlands been a strong supporter of the normalization of ties between Cuba and the 28-member European bloc.
"France has always been a leader in the European Union. The fact that the French president is coming shows France's very important role in the dialogue between Cuba and the European Union," Eduardo Perera from the University of Havana told AFP.
AFP
