President Hollande visits The Netherlands

By Nicole H Pierre.

It was with great enthusiasm that the members of the French community in The Netherlands welcomed the President of the French Republic, François Hollande, at the Scheepvaartmuseum (the National Maritime Museum) in Amsterdam on Monday January 20^th 2014. The event culminated the one day visit of the President during which he met with King Willem-Alexander, Prime Minister Mark Rutte and other leaders of parliament, as well as a visit to the Nobel Peace Prize laureate, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, in The Hague.There were more than 600 invited guests in attendance and President Hollande highlighted the importance of the long standing economic ties between the two countries. While he addressed certain pressing political issues, he did so with a humor which is very characteristic of the president. At the end of the evening, which was organized by the French Embassy of The Netherlands and the General Consulate of France to the Netherlands, President Hollande took the time out to interact with, and thank, members of the audience.