France's President in Colombia to show support for peace | iNFOnews.ca
French President Francois Hollande, left, and Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos, walk on a red carpet during a review of troops as part of a welcoming ceremony at the Presidential Palace in Bogota, Colombia, Monday, Jan. 23, 2017. Hollande is on a final Latin America tour before stepping down in a few months after elections to choose his successor. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)

France’s President in Colombia to show support for peace

BOGOTA – French President Francois Hollande is in Colombia’s capital as part of a two-day tour and he’s expressing his support for a peace deal to end the country’s half-century conflict.

It’s the first visit to the South American nation by a French head of state in 28 years.

Hollande was received with honours Monday by President Juan Manuel Santos. He is expected to travel Tuesday to a rural zone where guerrillas belonging to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia are preparing to turn over their weapons to United Nations-backed observers as part of a historic peace deal.

France is a major supporter of the peace deal as a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council and through donations to rebuild war -orn communities being channeled through the European Union.

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