France has several compelling reasons to take care of its strategic alliance with India, beyond the fact that it is the most populous country on the planet and with enormous potential for economic growth. Paris needs New Delhi as a support in the Asia-Pacific region – where there are still French territories such as Mayotte, Reunion, New Caledonia and French Polynesia – and to offset the growing influence of China. The Indians are also big buyers of French arms and the day before yesterday they announced their intention to acquire 26 more Rafale fighter-bombers and three submarines.
The presence of the Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, as guest of honor in the traditional military parade on July 14 – Bastille Day, a national holiday – consolidates a close bond between the two countries for 25 years. The parade on the Champs-Élysées began with the passage of 240 Indian soldiers from the Punjab regiment, the same one that sent 9,000 fighters to France in 1916, during World War I.
Macron already had dinner with Modi – a vegetarian menu – on Thursday and yesterday he received him again at the Elysée for an official meeting. At night, the host treated his guest to a gala dinner at the Louvre museum with a hundred guests. There was no shortage of gifts, very well taken care of. The French president handed the Indian leader an exact replica of Charlemagne’s chess set: Modi is a big board fan.
In statements to the press – without the possibility of questions -, Macron spoke of a “relationship of historic trust”, of “convergence” on the global scene in search of “a just international order” and of avoiding “the risk of fragmentation”.
Modi described France as India’s “natural partner” in its development process and listed the multiple fields of cooperation – from the military to the environment – in the bilateral “roadmap” for the next 25 years.
Modi’s visit is not well received by French left-wing parties and human rights defenders. They consider it inappropriate for Macron to offer such exquisite treatment to an ultra-nationalist leader whom they criticize for regressive social policies and little respect for non-Hindu ethnic minorities.
But interest is interest. The purchase of more Rafale aircraft by India is of vital importance to France. For geopolitical reasons or technological compatibility, it is extremely difficult for the manufacturer Dassault to sell these sophisticated devices to NATO allies – except for Greece and Croatia – as they all end up opting for US fighter-bombers such as the F-35 . Even Switzerland did it recently. Paris, however, wants to maintain its own production of all kinds of weapons as a guarantee of its independence. For this production to be minimally profitable, in the case of the Rafale, non-European countries such as India, Egypt, Qatar and the Emirates must acquire them. France, by the way, is the second largest arms supplier to India after Russia.
Modi still had time, during his stay in Paris, to hold a meeting with 4,000 members of the Indian diaspora in Europe, who listened to him enthusiastically, on Thursday, in a music auditorium next to the Seine.
