When the Ocean Liner 'France' Came to Tenerife for the First Time

At dawn on January 23, 1962, five days after leaving the port of Le Havre, the ocean liner “France” arrived in Santa Cruz de Tenerife on its maiden voyage and anchored in the shelter of Anaga, despite the fact that the Tenerife port offered all safety guarantees for it to dock. For several weeks, the Tenerife press had been reporting on the historic stop, as it was the first Spanish port it visited.

“The entry of the gigantic ship into the bay – says “La Tarde”, on the day of its arrival – completely decorated and illuminated, was witnessed on the warm winter morning by a large crowd that had gathered in the port area since dawn, adorned for the occasion with numerous French and Spanish flags, giving the port an impressive appearance, full of color and animation, further highlighting the magnificent marine scene with the presence of many ships of all flags in the docks and some merchant vessels anchored in the outer harbor.”

On board were nearly two thousand passengers, including the wife of the President of France, Mrs. De Gaulle, who was welcomed by the civil and military authorities of the time at the South Dock, receiving a warm welcome. Among the attendees was the Captain General of the Canary Islands, Ramón Gotarredona Prats; the civil governor, Manuel Ballesteros Gaibrois; the mayor of Santa Cruz, Joaquín Amigó de Lara; the president of the Inter-Island Commonwealth of Cabildos, Juan Ravina Méndez; as well as the heads of the Air Zone and the Naval Base of the Canary Islands; the president of the Court, the rector of the University, and other representatives.

The marquee was decorated with flags from both countries and the stairs were covered with carpets. Mrs. De Gaulle was accompanied by her son, corvette captain Phillip De Gaulle, and Mrs. Debré, wife of the French Prime Minister, as well as the president of the Compagnie Generale Transtlantique. Among the authorities traveling on board were also the French ministers of Finance and Public Works, Robert Buron and Wilfrid Baugartner, who, along with the captain of the “France”, Georges Croisile, were greeted by the consul of France in Tenerife, M. Deltour. Upon disembarking, all passengers were presented with flowers and informational brochures about Tenerife distributed by elegant young ladies dressed in traditional attire.

Two hours after the arrival of the ocean liner “France”, a caravan of cars left the South dock for an excursion into the interior of the Island. The distinguished visitors toured the city center and then headed to the Cañadas del Teide and the valley of La Orotava. That same afternoon, Mrs. De Gaulle and her companions returned to Paris aboard the French presidential plane, a Douglas DC-4 of the French Air Force, which took off from Los Rodeos Airport.

The next day, the newspaper “El Día” dedicated its entire front page to the news of the “France” stop. “Tenerife, the scene of an exciting day of Hispano-French friendship”, “The people of Tenerife, on behalf of Spain, paid their warmest tribute to the passengers of the beautiful ship” and “The splendid weather that reigned in our Island yesterday contributed to the brilliance of the memorable day”, were some of the most prominent headlines, along with a message of gratitude from the First Lady: “Before leaving this beautiful generous land, I want to express my deepest gratitude to all those who, on this day, have overwhelmed me with attentions that I will never forget.”

Photo: via Francisco J. Renedo Ucar