At the PCF’s New Year’s ceremony in the city, France’s second most populous, members of parliament, mayors, and representatives of unions, solidarity associations, and other sectors of society joined in denouncing and condemning President Donald Trump’s decision to declare Cuba a threat to the United States.
This week, Trump threatened to impose tariffs on countries that sell or supply fuel to the Caribbean nation, a stance that was denounced in Marseille – the capital of the Bouches-du-Rhone department – as a new step in Washington’s crusade to try to subdue the island and its people through economic strangulation.
Senator Jeremy Bacchi, regional secretary of the French Communist Party (PCF), led the event, which featured Cuban Ambassador Otto Vaillant as a guest.
In addition to condemning the US crusade and the intensification of the economic, commercial, and financial blockade imposed more than six decades ago, participants announced the shipment of three containers of aid to the Caribbean nation.
In his remarks, Ambassador Vaillant expressed his gratitude for the solidarity shown toward Cuba and the publicized actions taken, and shared details of the current situation on the island as a consequence of the US blockade.
The diplomat affirmed that Cubans are prepared to resist in defense of their sovereignty and right to choose their own destiny, and to confront any aggression. Vaillant insisted that Washington’s hostility and the recent escalation violate international law and endanger regional peace.
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