The visit of French President Francois Hollande to Athens on Thursday afternoon is considered to be “a visit of friendship and trust,” according to French diplomats.
The French President accepted the invitation of President of the Hellenic Republic Prokopis Pavlopoulos and is visiting Athens along with a group of French investors who will potentially invest in Greece.
France intends to support Greece with technical help in three sectors: the tax system, public administration and assets management. Also, the French President is accompanied by a group of businessmen who will meet with Greek entrepreneurs and organizations.
Hollande will arrive at the Athens International Airport on Thursday at 4:50 pm for a two-day visit to Athens where he will also address the Greek Parliament.
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras will welcome Hollande at the airport and will accompany him to the Monument of the Unknown Soldier where he will lay a wreath. Defense Minister Panos Kammenos will welcome the French President at the monument.
After the wreath laying ceremony, Hollande and his delegation will visit the Presidential Mansion at 5:45 where he will meet with the Greek President. After a half-hour talk between the two men, Pavlopoulos will decorate the French President with a medal.
Thursday’s program will culminate with a formal dinner reception at the Presidential Mansion at 8 pm.
On Friday, President Hollande and his delegation will be visiting the French Embassy at Athens where they will meet with investors. At 9:45 am the French leader will visit Maximos Mansion where he will have a meeting with the Greek Prime Minister, after which there will be a press conference.
At 11:55 am the French President will be departing for the Greek Parliament where he will address Greece’s lawmakers.
After the House address Tsipras will accompany Hollande to the Acropolis Museum for a tour. A formal lunch will follow, after which the French President and his delegation will be accompanied to the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens for a ceremony in which Hollande will be titled Professor Emeritus of the university.
At 4 pm Hollande will depart for the French School of Athens where he will meet with representatives of the French community in Greece. Following that, his last stop will be the headquarters of the Greek Technology Clusters Initiative “Corallia,” after which the French delegation will depart for the airport for a special return flight at 7 pm.
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