Thirty-seven years after his political career began in earnest in exile in Paris, Rouhani visits as Iranian president seeking to rebuild economic ties

Hassan Rouhani’s historic visit to France, which began on Wednesday afternoon, is set to be dominated by business talks between the Iranian president’s 100-strong trade delegation and French CEOs, most notably over a multibillion-dollar contract for the purchase of 114 Airbus planes.

But on a personal level for Rouhani the visit will stir memories from more than three and a half decades ago when his political career began in earnest in exile in a suburban area west of Paris.

In 1978 the law graduate and outspoken critic of the shah joined Ayatollah Rouhollah Khomeini in Neauphle-le-Château, from where Khomeini stirred up a revolution 3,000 miles away thanks to a network of devout supporters who used cassette tapes and photocopiers to spread his message.

Rouhani returned to Tehran in 1979, entered parliament after the revolution and very soon became an ultimate insider, serving in critical roles at the time of war with Iraq.

Now 67, Rouhani returns to France as a moderate and reform-seeking president who wants to rebuild economic ties following the lifting of sanctions, and to revamp Iran’s image in Europe after the acrimonious years of his predecessor, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. It is the first state visit to France by an Iranian president in 17 years.

Rouhani arrives from Italy, where he paid a state visit to Rome and the Vatican, meeting Pope Francis. “Iran is the safest, the most stable country in the entire region,” Rouhani said in Rome. “Everyone understood that the nuclear negotiations represented a win-win situation for both sides. There has to be an advantage for both sides: we invite you to invest and we will provide stability and ensure that you can make adequate returns.”

In Paris, the Iranian president will meet French business leaders and host a dinner reception with expatriate Iranians. It was not clear whether his tight schedule would allow him to also visit Neauphle-le-Château.

On Thursday the president will be welcomed by the French foreign minister, Laurent Fabius, at Les Invalides. He will then lead a business meeting at Medef, France’s main business confederation, in the presence of the French prime minister, Manuel Valls, and will speak at Ifri, the French institute of international relations, which has a strong presence in Tehran. Rouhani is due to meet the French president, François Hollande, at the Elysée Palace in the afternoon.

Unlike other state visits to France, there will be no...read more at The Guardian