French President Francois Hollande is paying a state visit to Romania, the first one of a French head of state after 25 years. The last visit of a French President was the one paid by Francois Mitterand in 1991.
Tuesday morning President Francois Hollande was welcomed at Cotroceni Palace by Romanian President Klaus Iohannis and have begun have head-to-head talks with, which are to be followed by official discussions and a joint press statement.
Also on Tuesday, the two heads of state will go to the ELI-NP (Extreme Light Infrastructure — Nuclear Physics) Research Centre within the Horia Hulubei National Institute for R&D in Physics and Nuclear Engineering (IFIN-HH) in southern Bucharest’s Magurele, where they will visit the Laser Control Room and will participate in the opening of the economic event “Future French-Romanian partnerships.”
Moreover, Francois Hollande will pay a visit, together with Romanian PM Dacian Ciolos, to the Airbus Romania helicopter plant for the official opening. The French President also has scheduled an official lunch with the Romanian Prime Minister.
Later in the day, Klaus Iohannis will extend a state dinner.
The French head of state arrived in Bucharest on Monday night, being welcomed at Henri Coanda Airport by a delegation including the Romanian Ambassador in France, Luca Niculescu.
Hollande is accompanied by 30 French businessmen.
Tuesday morning the French President has laid a wreath of flowers at the Unknown Soldier’s memorial in Carol Park in Bucharest.
The visit takes place three days ahead the EU summit in Bratislava, the first one after the UK’s Brexit vote.
President Iohannis awards National Order of the Star of Romania to French counterpart Hollande
President Klaus Iohannis has awarded the National Order of the Star of Romania, in rank of Collar, to his French counterpart Francois Hollande.
The decree was published in the Official Journal on Monday evening.
The Romanian head of state decorated the French President “as a sign of high appreciation for the personal contribution to developing the friendship and collaboration relations between Romania and the French Republic, for the voiced understanding and interest towards the Romanian history and culture.”
The decoration was awarded taking into account the Foreign Minister’s proposal. The National Order of the Star of Romania is the highest distinction of the Romanian state, and the rank of Collar is the sixth from bottom to top and the highest rank of the Order.
Minor incident in the motorcade of President Hollande
A motorcycle in the French President François Hollande’s motorcade fell right before entering the Carol Park in Bucharest. The images shown by Digi 24 TV show the agent immediately stood up without any injuries.
The motorcyclist slid due to the wet road.