French President Francois Mitterrand arrived in Prague Thursday on the first visit to Czechoslovakia by a French head of state in the history of the East European republic.
Mitterrand, 72, was greeted by his Czechoslovak counterpart Gustav Husak in the Prague airport at the start of his two-day visit.The French president was scheduled to hold talks with Husak, whom he urged during an earlier interview with Czechoslovak television to end human-rights abuses.
In a sharp departure from past practice, authorities on the eve of Mitterand's arrival agreed to permit a demonstration by five dissident groups commeorating the 40th anniversary of the signing of the universal declaration of human rights.