This story is free to read.

Drug lord jailbreak clouds Mexican leader’s visit to France

Mexico's President Enrique Pena Nieto delivers his speech at the French-Mexican Academic and Scientific partnership headquarters in Paris, France, Monday, July 13, 2015. Authorities in Mexico continue their all-out manhunt for drug lord, Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, who officials say escaped Saturday from a maximum security prison. Officials say an opening in the shower area of his cell opened up to a one-mile tunnel. (AP Photo/Kamil Zihnioglu) Mexico's President Enrique Pena Nieto delivers his speech at the French-Mexican Academic and Scientific partnership headquarters in Paris, France, Monday, July 13, 2015. Authorities in Mexico continue their all-out manhunt for drug lord, Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, who officials say escaped Saturday from a maximum security prison. Officials say an opening in the shower area of his cell opened up to a one-mile tunnel. (AP Photo/Kamil Zihnioglu)

By Associated Press July 13, 2015 1 min read

PARIS (AP) – Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto is paying a state visit to France this week amid the shock of drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman’s dramatic escape from a maximum security prison in Mexico.

Pena Nieto came to Paris to celebrate Bastille Day – France’s most important national event – on Tuesday as French President François Hollande’s guest of honor.

The Mexican president spoke Monday at Paris’ Latin American Cultural Center and received a medal from the Sorbonne. He will meet Hollande, Prime Minister Manuel Valls and Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo and participate in a forum with France’s largest employers’ group, MEDEF.

Aside from the political trouble caused by the jailbreak, the Mexican president will also face protests in Paris by activists who call his government authoritarian and corrupt.