Paris, May 8 (RHC) -– President François Hollande headed for the West Indies on Friday for a five-day tour during which he will make the first-ever visit by a French leader to Cuba as well visiting Haiti and France's territories in the region.

Hollande will be the first French president to visit Cuba since independence from Spain in 1898. He will be accompanied by executives of companies like Pernod Ricard, Air France and Accor, who already do business with the Caribbean island and look to examine the prospect for trade expansion in a new context of economic openness and a warmer political scenario.

Hollande is also slated to visit Haiti and the French territories of Saint-Barthélemy, Saint Martin and Martinique.