French parliamentarians ask for firmness regarding extraterritoriality of the blockade against Cuba

Havana, Feb 3 (RHC) French parliamentary leaders André Chassaigne and Éric Coquerel today demanded firm responses from their country's government regarding the extraterritoriality of the US blockade of Cuba, a policy that also affects French interests.

The president of the France-Cuba Friendship Group of the National Assembly and communist leader Chassaigne considered the subordination to the aggressiveness of Washington unacceptable, as it keeps French companies and banks away from the island with laws such as the Helms-Burton.

Banks cannot be allowed to not carry out operations with Cuba or accompany our businessmen who have ties to that country, which seems to me to lower their heads before the United States, he warned.

According to the deputy, it is not only about denouncing the blockade for its damage to the Cuban people, but also for the consequences it represents for the interests of France. If companies go to the island to do business and invest, as several have done in recent years, their population benefits, but at the same time our economy wins, he stressed.

For his part, the parliamentarian for La Francia Insumisa Coquerel considered that confronting American extraterritoriality is a matter of courage.

France and the European Union vote in favor of the resolutions in the UN General Assembly for the lifting of the economic, commercial and financial blockade against Cuba, a position with which they should be consistent, instead of showing weakness.

For Coquerel, there is potential in commercial relations with Cuba, which he described as logical given the condition of France, which has overseas territories on the American continent.

Both deputies expressed their determination to address with the French government the issue of the extraterritoriality of the siege imposed on Cuba and the need to act against it at the national and European levels.

Last Monday, the National Assembly hosted a colloquium organized by its France-Cuba Friendship Group and the Institute of Higher Studies on Latin America, focused on promoting a reinforcement of the presence of French companies on the island, for the benefit of its population.

Among the issues discussed were the refusal of French banks to work with Cuba for fear of sanctions and pressure from Washington. (Source: PL)