MANILA, Philippines – (UPDATED) Actors Jeremy Irons, Marion Cotillard, and Melanie Laurent are joining French President Francois Hollande in his visit to the Philippines from February 26 to 27. 

This was confirmed by the French Embassy in a press conference on Wednesday, February 18.  

Hollande’s itinerary will include a short visit to Guiuan in Eastern Samar, one of the towns worst hit by Super Typhoon Yolanda (international name Haiyan).  

On Thursday, February 26, the French president and his entourage will arrive in the Philippines and spend the entire day in Manila. His first day includes a state visit to Malacañang Palace and a climate change forum.

On Friday, February 27, he will fly to Guiuan to visit Haiyan-hit areas and give a speech in an elementary school. His visit to the town will be a short one, lasting only around an hour.

His entourage, including the 3 celebrities, is expected to accompany him during the entire trip.

Here is President Hollande’s rough itinerary:

February 26 (Thursday)

Arrival in Metro Manila around noon

Luncheon with Makati Business Club

Climate change forum in National Museum

Arrival honors in Malacañang Palace

State dinner in Malacañang Palace

February 27 (Friday)

Arrival in Guiuan town

Tour of the town

Speech at the Guiuan Elementary School

The 3 celebrities were chosen for their environmental advocacies. Oscar-winning French actress Cotillard, who played the singer Edith Piaf in La Vie En Rose, is a Greenpeace spokesperson. English actor Irons, also an Academy Award winner, has worked on documentaries about global pollution.

French actress Melanie Laurent, who starred as the leading lady in Inglorious Basterds, has worked with Greenpeace in climate change issues and deforestation.

Another high profile member of Hollande’s entourage is Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople, the head of the Eastern Orthodox Church. The Eastern Orthodox Church is the second largest Christian church in the world with around 300 million devotees.

Hollande will also be accompanied by 3 French ministers, representatives from the United Nations and civil society organizations.

Earlier reports of other Hollywood actors joining the trip were incorrect, said French Ambassador Gilles Garachon, because the list referred to in the article was not a list of those invited to the visit.

Call for the climate

Hollande’s visit will focus on political and bilateral issues such as trade but will also tackle the issue of climate change, said Garachon.

The visit is an affirmation of the friendship between the two countries, he said.

“We have a relationship that is developing fast. This visit is a consequence of your president’s visit to Paris where he invited our president to visit the Philippines.”  

The Guiuan leg of the trip aims to highlight climate change, an issue doubly important to France now because of its role as host of a major international climate change conference in December.

Garachon said Guiuan was chosen because it was “ground zero” for Haiyan – the first to be hit by the monster typhoon and among the most devastated areas.

Hollande’s speech in Guiuan is aimed at “expressing solidarity among people hit by climate change and a commitment to reduce the production of carbon dioxide,” said Garachon. 

Carbon dioxide emissions, according to scientists, is a main driver of global warming. The Paris climate change conference aims to produce an international agreement to reduce these emissions to stop climate change from becoming irreversible.

Aquino and Hollande are expected to make a joint statement on climate change as a way to build momentum for the conference.

Garachon said, “Our idea is to make a call from Manila. It will also come from the Philippines, a country which is facing courageously climate change.” – Rappler.com