France condemns Title III of the Helms-Burton Act

The French government reiterated its condemnation of the activation of Title III of the Helms-Burton Act, a US initiative aimed at tightening the economic, commercial and financial blockade against Cuba, the French Senate stated today.

On its website, the upper house of the French Parliament disclosed the position, expressed by the Foreign Ministry in response to Senator for Martinique Catherine Conconne, who on November 28 requested clarification of the French goverment´s position in the face of escalating White House hostility towards the island.

According to the written response, France considers Washington's decision to activate Title III of the Act, which seeks to deprive Cuba of foreign investment, based on its extraterritorial nature, as an unacceptable violation of International Law.

The United States threatens our economic sovereignty, by attempting to dissuade companies, especially European companies, willing to make investments on the island, the text highlighted.

The Foreign Ministry recalled this December 19 the European Council regulation 2271, adopted in 1996 when the US Congress passed the Helms-Burton Act, which codifies the blockade, to protect the interests of the European Union from the application of extraterritorial laws.

The regulation from Brussels does not recognize any administrative or legal measure issued by a third country applied on European soil, thus rejecting Title III of the Helms-Burton Act, activated in May after previous White House administrations refrained from doing so in the face of global opposition.

Paris ratified that it will seek with its partners new measures to protect European interests and companies operating in Cuba.