Hailing the special connection

For a person visiting the City for the first time, French Ambassador to India Francois Richier seemed pretty aware of the City’s character. Francois tells Metrolife about his impression of the City.

“I have friends here in the City and I’d heard about the City, even before I left France. Bangalore has a very vibrant French community, and many of our close friends live here,” says Francois when asked about his familiarity with the City. “The City is definitely there on the global map, and renown for its IT hub, and for being a green city,” he adds.

Francois feels that the French community is very active in Bangalore, and the historical ties with Karnataka, must make it more special. “The history from the 18th century onwards, in connection with the time of Tipu Sultan, are all reminders of the French presence in Indian history.”

Asserting his view on Bangalore being well-known, he adds, “Earlier when one would ask tourists or people heading to India, about their travel plans, they would say they were visiting Delhi, Rajasthan, Mumbai and Kolkata. But now, Bangalore is on most tourists’ travel plans, and it heads the list of the top cities in India. This wasn’t the scene about 20 years ago.”

“The exchange student ratio has also increased. There are more French students here in India and Bangalore, and more Indian students in France now. The numbers seemed to have almost doubled over time,” Francois states. He adds, “The cultural ties are often well established, with artists from India like Sunita Bajaj, who’ve settled in France, and vice-versa.”

He concludes, “Even if we are faraway countries on the physical map, there is a special solid connection between the two countries, which will continue with the ongoing cultural celebrations that we have here.”