PM Narendra Modi’s France visit to boost India-EU ties

In the emerging global geopolitics, PM Narendra Modi may use a trusted India-France partnership during the July visit to shape broader India-EU ties

To celebrate the 25th anniversary of the India-France strategic partnership, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be attending Bastille Day Parade as guest of honour at the Champs-Elysées in Paris. This is the second time an Indian leader is invited as a guest of honour at the July 14 parade. Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh along with an Indian military contingent attended the parade in 2009.

India has signed more than 35 strategic partnerships so far. But the first-ever strategic partnership India signed with any country was with France in January 1998. A few months later, India conducted the Pokhran II nuclear tests. France not only refrained from imposing sanctions, but French President Jacques Chirac also wanted to resolve India’s exclusion from the global nuclear framework.

In the last 25 years, a strong institutional mechanism has been established to strengthen co-operation in the areas of space, defence, civil nuclear, renewables, cyberspace, digital technology, counter-terrorism, and the blue economy. Apart from defence dialogues, India’s three services conduct regular defence exercises with their French counterparts. Both have jointly launched the International Solar Alliance (ISA). Modi’s visit may elevate the partnership further by ‘setting new and ambitious goals for our strategic, cultural, scientific, academic, economic cooperation, including in a wide range of industries’.

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During the visit, a new deal to acquire 26 Rafale Marine fighters for indigenously-built aircraft carrier INS Vikrant could be announced. India has already purchased 36 Rafale fighter jets. Recently, Air India announced a deal to purchase 250 aircrafts from Airbus.

Modi’s visit will take place at a time when French President Emmanuel Macron is facing internal and external challenges. Although the constitutional council has allowed him to go ahead with his pension reforms, political opposition to Macron both from the Left and Right has strengthened.

While facing domestic opposition, he has been trying to project himself as a European voice externally. Of late, he is also being criticised for his softer approach both towards Russia and China as well as his remarks on Taiwan. He has been a proponent of European ‘strategic autonomy’, and has said that Europe should not be a follower of the United States on its Taiwan policy.

During his recent China visit, Macron was not able to get any clear assurances from President Xi Jinping on the Ukraine war. In 2021, the AUKUS (Australia, the United Kingdom, and the US) submarine deal blindsided France where French companies lost a $65 billion contract to build Australian submarines. Within this context, strengthened collaboration with India and new defence deals could boost Macron’s standing. Maritime security within the Indo-Pacific narrative has emerged as a strong area of mutual co-operation.

Modi’s visit could also be useful for India in the context of the Ukraine war, where Indian and European perceptions differ. Strengthening strategic components of the partnership with France could also reassure other EU nations that despite few differences, partnership with India continues to be crucial. After Brexit, France is now the only nuclear weapon state and permanent member of the UN Security Council within the European Union.

An area which needs more focus is trade and investment. For the last few years, bilateral trade has been about $10-12 billion. In comparison, India’s trade with countries like Bangladesh, Thailand, and Vietnam is more than France. India could do more trade with a $3 trillion European economy. Negotiations on India-EU trade and investment agreements have re-started. However, knowing the history of past negotiations with the EU, we need to redouble our efforts to conclude these agreements at the earliest.

France also hosts the fourth-largest Indian community in Europe after the UK, Italy, and Germany. Despite the challenging environment, France is making a concerted effort to attract students and professionals from India. A bilateral agreement on migration and mobility co-operation is already in place which aims to facilitate circular migration based on mobility and return of skills to the home country. It targets to enrol 20,000 Indian students by 2025.

Like Charles De Gaulle and François Mitterrand, Macron also seems to believe that a strong and united Europe could be used as a tool to improve the French position in world affairs. New Delhi’s position on the Ukraine war has raised some concerns in Europe about limits of strategic convergence between India and EU. In the emerging global geopolitics, Modi may use a trusted India-France partnership during the visit to shape broader India-EU ties.

(Gulshan Sachdeva is Professor, Centre for European Studies and Coordinator, Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence, Jawaharlal Nehru University.)

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are the author's own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of DH.