Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki to make first official visit to Paris

Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki

Reuters/Zoubeir Souissi

By RFI

Tunisia’s new Presdident, Moncel Marzouki, will be making his first official visit to France on 17 July. The last time he was in France was as an exile under former president Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali.

After being brought to power by the first revolt of the Arab Spring, Marzouki will meet President François Hollande and will address the French National Assembly.

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He is also scheduled to get together with Bertrand Delanoë, the mayor of Paris, who was born in Tunisia. Apart from his scheduled visit to Marseille on 19 July, no other details of his visit are known.

Marzouki delayed his visit to Paris for the Tunisian presidential elections.

Relations between France and the new Tunisian government got off to a rocky start after former president Nicolas Sarkozy's government was accused of supporting Ben Ali, right to the very end.

Former French foreign minister Michèle Alliot-Marie admitted to borrowing the private jet of a Tunisian associate of ousted president Ben-Ali.

Tunisia recently named Adel Fekih as its new ambassador to France.