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Granma, May 12, 2015

French President François Hollande became the first top Western leader to visit Cuba since the island nation moved to reestablish relations with the United States late last year. Hollande spent Monday in Cuba, conducting talks with President Raúl Castro, as well as meeting his older brother and leader of the revolution, Fidel Castro, in a rare public appearance for the 88-year-old former president.

Hollande, the first sitting French leader to visit Cuba since 1898, called the meeting a “historic moment.” The state-run Cuban daily Granma reported in its Tuesday edition that Fidel Castro and Hollande had a “friendly” meeting. In a statement after the meeting, the French president said he found the leader of the revolution “quite talkative.”

The visit has gotten wide coverage in the French press as well, with Le Mondeoutlining the “new cultural and commercial relationships” that are now opening up between the two countries.

ABOUT THE SOURCE: Granma is the official newspaper of the Cuban Communist Party, owned by the government. It was created in 1965 and is located in the capital Havana.