French PM coming to Manila

MANILA, Philippines - French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault is coming to Manila for an official visit this Oct. 19 to 22 upon the invitation of President Aquino.

Both Malacañang and the French embassy in Manila headed by Ambassador Gilles Garachon are now busy preparing for the 5-day visit. This will be the first ever visit to the Philippines of a sitting Prime Minister of France.

President Aquino will meet with the visiting French official before he himself flies to New Zealand and Australia for a twin state visit starting that week.

From Manila, the French Prime Minister will later fly to Cebu to attend a two-day official activity.

Following the election of French President Francois Hollandes last May 15, Ayrault was appointed Prime Minister of France replacing Francois Fillon.

As Prime Minister, Ayrault is the head of the government of France while President Hollandes is the head of state who wields the power under the French system of government.

The 62-year-old Ayrault is a former mayor of Nantes from 1989 until he was appointed to his present top position in the French parliament. He is the leader of the French Socialist Party in their National Assembly.

The French leader is making this reciprocal visit after two former Philippine presidents embarked on state visits and one official visit to France during their respective terms.

Aquino’s late mother, ex-President Corazon Aquino was in Paris in 1989 for the Quadricentennial independence anniversary celebration of the French Bastille Day. Former President Fidel Ramos made a state visit to France in 1993 while former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo made an official visit to France in September 2003.

When he presented his credentials at Malacañang last February, Ambassador Garachon told The STAR he had also relayed the formal invitation to President Aquino to visit France sometime next year. Among other events, Aquino is invited to grace the inauguration of an exhibit in a Paris museum of Philippine artifacts and relics of pre-Spanish colonial era.

The official visit to Manila of the French leader comes at the heels of increased trade between the two countries highlighted by the recent placement of order for an initial $7 billion worth of 54 units of France-made Airbus commercial aircrafts.