![Ambassade d'Inde en France](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a8/Ambassade_d%27Inde_en_France.jpg)
France–India relations (; ) are the
bilateral relations
Bilateralism is the conduct of political, economic, or cultural relations between two sovereign states. It is in contrast to unilateralism or multilateralism, which is activity by a single state or jointly by multiple states, respectively. When ...
between
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
and
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
, two countries that have traditionally been close and friendly. Both countries have a '
special relationship
The Special Relationship is a term that is often used to describe the politics, political, social, diplomacy, diplomatic, culture, cultural, economics, economic, law, legal, Biophysical environment, environmental, religion, religious, military ...
' with each other, so much so that by August 2019, France has been called "India's new best friend" by a researcher of the
Hudson Institute
The Hudson Institute is a conservative American think tank based in Washington, D.C. It was founded in 1961 in Croton-on-Hudson, New York, by futurist, military strategist, and systems theorist Herman Kahn and his colleagues at the RAND Corporat ...
.
[ Both nations have a centuries-old history of trade relations. From the 17th century until 1954, France maintained a colonial presence in the ]Indian subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...
; Puducherry Puducherry or Pondicherry may refer to:
* Puducherry (union territory), a union territory of India
** Pondicherry, capital of the union territory of Puducherry
** Puducherry district, a district of the union territory of Puducherry
** Puducherry tal ...
, one of its former Indian territories, is a popular tourism destination for French travellers to India.
With the establishment of the strategic partnership in 1998, there has been significant progress in all areas of bilateral cooperation through regular high-level exchanges at the Head of State/Head of Government levels and growing commercial exchanges including in strategic areas such as defence, nuclear energy and space. France was the first country with which India entered into an agreement on nuclear energy following the waiver given by the International Atomic Energy Agency
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is an intergovernmental organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons. It was established in 1957 ...
and the Nuclear Suppliers’ Group, enabling India to resume full civil nuclear cooperation with the international community. There is also a growing and wide-ranging cooperation in areas such as trade and investment, culture, science and technology and education. France has consistently supported India's goals for a multipolar world, led by regional democracies.
History
An Indian Christian priest, Saint Severus settled in Vienne
Vienne (; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Viéne'') is a landlocked department in the French region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. It takes its name from the river Vienne. It had a population of 438,435 in 2019.[François Bernier
François Bernier (25 September 162022 September 1688) was a French physician and traveller. He was born in Joué-Etiau in Anjou. He stayed (14 October 165820 February 1670) for around 12 years in India.
His 1684 publication "Nouvel ...]
(1625–1688), a French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
physician
A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...
and traveler, became for 12 years the personal physician of the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb
Muhi al-Din Muhammad (; – 3 March 1707), commonly known as ( fa, , lit=Ornament of the Throne) and by his regnal title Alamgir ( fa, , translit=ʿĀlamgīr, lit=Conqueror of the World), was the sixth emperor of the Mughal Empire, ruling ...
.
In the 18th century, France was actively involved in the European colonial powerplay in the Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by th ...
region.
The French General Dupleix was allied to Murzapha Jung
Muhyi ad-Din Muzaffar Jang Hidayat (died 13 February 1751) was the ruler of Hyderabad from 1750 until his death in 1751. His official name was ''Nawab Hidayat Muhi ud-din Sa'adu'llah Khan Bahadur, Muzaffar Jang, Nawab Subadar of the Deccan''. H ...
in the Deccan
The large Deccan Plateau in South India, southern India is located between the Western Ghats and the Eastern Ghats, and is loosely defined as the peninsular region between these ranges that is south of the Narmada river. To the north, it is bou ...
, and Chanda Sahib
Chanda Sahib (died 12 June 1752) was a subject of the Mughal Empire and the Nawab of the Carnatic between 1749 and 1752. Initially he was supported by the French during the Carnatic Wars. After his defeat at Arcot in 1751, he was captured by ...
in the Carnatic Wars
The Carnatic Wars were a series of military conflicts in the middle of the 18th century in India's coastal Carnatic region, a dependency of Hyderabad State, India. Three Carnatic Wars were fought between 1744 and 1763.
The conflicts involved n ...
, in the conflict against Robert Clive
Robert Clive, 1st Baron Clive, (29 September 1725 – 22 November 1774), also known as Clive of India, was the first British Governor of the Bengal Presidency. Clive has been widely credited for laying the foundation of the British ...
of the East India Company
The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...
. These relationships were beneficial to the French, and French allies gifted areas such as the Alamparai Fort
The ruins of Alamparai Fort (also called Alampara) lie near Kadappakkam in India, a village 50 km from Mamallapuram on the land overlooking the sea. Constructed in the late 17th century during the Mughal era, the Alamparai Fort once had a ...
in return for the services provided by the French against the British East India Company.
The French succeeded in the 1746 Battle of Madras
The Battle of Madras or Fall of Madras took place in September 1746 during the War of the Austrian Succession when a French force attacked and captured the city of Madras from its British garrison.
French forces occupied Madras until the end ...
, and the French and Indians fought together and vanquished Anwaruddin Anwaruddin is a Muslim male name formed from the elements '' Anwar'' and ''ad-Din''. It thus means "light of the faith". It may refer to:
*Anwaruddin Muhammed Khan (1672–1749), Nawab of Arcot, major figure during the Second Carnatic War
*Anwarudd ...
in 1749, but failed in the Battle of Arcot
The Siege of Arcot (23 September – 14 November 1751) took place at Arcot, India between forces of the British East India Company led by Robert Clive allied with Muhammad Ali Khan Wallajah and forces of Nawab of the Carnatic, Chanda Sahib, alli ...
in 1751 and finally surrendered in 1752.[''Cambridge Illustrated Atlas of Warfare'', p.160] The French again had a success at the capture of Fort St David
Fort St David, now in ruins, was a British fort near the town of Cuddalore, a hundred miles south of Chennai on the Coromandel Coast of India. It is located near silver beach without any maintenance. It was named for the patron saint of Wales b ...
in 1758 under Lally, but were finally defeated at Machilipatnam
Machilipatnam (), also known as Masulipatnam and Bandar, is a city in Krishna district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is a municipal corporation and the administrative headquarters of Krishna district. It is also the Tehsil, mandal he ...
(1759) and Vandavasi
Vandavasi, earlier called Wandiwash is a major town and a municipality in the Tiruvannamalai district of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The town is well known in the Carnatic history for the Battle of Wandiwash. Vandavasi town is also the larges ...
(1760).
The French military adventurer and mercenary, Benoît de Boigne
Benoît Leborgne (24 March 175121 June 1830), better known as Count Benoît de Boigne or General Count de Boigne, was a military adventurer from the Duchy of Savoy, who made his fortune and name in India with the Marathas. He was also named presid ...
, made his name in India under the Marathas
The Marathi people (Marathi: मराठी लोक) or Marathis are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who are indigenous to Maharashtra in western India. They natively speak Marathi, an Indo-Aryan language. Maharashtra was formed as a M ...
, whom he assisted in many battles against the Rajputs.
French had lost pre-eminence in India with the Treaty of Paris (1763)
The Treaty of Paris, also known as the Treaty of 1763, was signed on 10 February 1763 by the kingdoms of Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain, Kingdom of France, France and Spanish Empire, Spain, with Kingdom of Portugal, Portugal in agree ...
, although five trading posts were being maintained there, leaving opportunities for disputes and power-play with the British. France was successful in supporting the Patriot cause during American War of Independence
The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
in 1776, and wished to expel the British from India as well.
In 1782, Louis XVI
Louis XVI (''Louis-Auguste''; ; 23 August 175421 January 1793) was the last King of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. He was referred to as ''Citizen Louis Capet'' during the four months just before he was ...
sealed an alliance with the Maratha Peshwa
The Peshwa (Pronunciation: e(ː)ʃʋaː was the appointed (later becoming hereditary) prime minister of the Maratha Empire of the Indian subcontinent. Originally, the Peshwas served as subordinates to the Chhatrapati (the Maratha king); later, ...
Madhav Rao Narayan. As a consequence Bussy moved his troops to Ile de France (Mauritius
Mauritius ( ; french: Maurice, link=no ; mfe, label=Mauritian Creole, Moris ), officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar. It incl ...
) and later contributed to the French effort in India in 1783. Admiral Suffren became the ally of Hyder Ali
Hyder Ali ( حیدر علی, ''Haidarālī''; 1720 – 7 December 1782) was the Sultan and ''de facto'' ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore in southern India. Born as Hyder Ali, he distinguished himself as a soldier, eventually drawing the att ...
in the Second Anglo-Mysore War
The Second Anglo-Mysore War was a conflict between the Kingdom of Mysore and the British East India Company from 1780 to 1784. At the time, Mysore was a key French ally in India, and the conflict between Britain against the French and Dutch in ...
against the British East India Company in 1782–1783, engaging in five battles against the Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
on the coasts of India and Ceylon
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
. Between February 1782 until June 1783, Suffren fought the English admiral Sir Edward Hughes, and collaborated with the rulers of Mysore. An army of 3,000 French soldiers collaborated with Hyder Ali to capture Cuddalore
Cuddalore, also spelt as Kadalur (), is the city and headquarters of the Cuddalore District in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Situated south of Chennai, Cuddalore was an important port during the British Raj.
While the early history of Cudda ...
.
While the British established their authority over the Madras Presidency
The Madras Presidency, or the Presidency of Fort St. George, also known as Madras Province, was an administrative subdivision (presidency) of British India. At its greatest extent, the presidency included most of southern India, including the ...
(covering the modern Indian states of Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...
and Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...
), France retained control of Pondicherry
Pondicherry (), now known as Puducherry ( French: Pondichéry ʊdʊˈtʃɛɹi(listen), on-dicherry, is the capital and the most populous city of the Union Territory of Puducherry in India. The city is in the Puducherry district on the sout ...
, Karikal
Karaikal ( /kʌdɛkʌl/, french: Karikal /kaʁikal/) is a town of the Indian Union Territory of Puducherry. Karaikal was sold to the French by the Rajah of Thanjavur and became a French Colony in 1739. The French held control, with occasi ...
, Yanam
Yanam (Telugu: ''యానాం'') is a town located in the Yanam district in Puducherry. It has a population of 35,000 and is entirely surrounded by Andhra Pradesh. It was formerly a French colony for nearly 200 years, and, though united wi ...
, and Mahé, as well as maintaining a foothold in Chandannagar
Chandannagar french: Chandernagor ), also known by its former name Chandernagore and French name Chandernagor, is a city in the Hooghly district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is headquarter of the Chandannagore subdivision and is part ...
, now in West Bengal
West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fourt ...
. During the British Raj
The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent;
*
* it is also called Crown rule in India,
*
*
*
*
or Direct rule in India,
* Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...
, many Indian independence activists (Subramania Bharati
C. Subramania Bharathi Birth name: C. Subramaniyan, the person's given name: Subramaniyan, father's given name: Chinnaswami. (C. Subramaniyan by the prevalent patronymic initials as prefix naming system in Tamil Nadu and it is Subramaniyan C ...
, Lala Lajpat Rai
Lala Lajpat Rai (28 January 1865 - 17 November 1928) was an Indian author, freedom fighter, and politician. He played a vital role in the Indian Independence movement. He was popularly known as Punjab Kesari. He was one of the three members of ...
, Sri Aurobindo
Sri Aurobindo (born Aurobindo Ghose; 15 August 1872 – 5 December 1950) was an Indian philosopher, yogi, maharishi, poet, and Indian nationalist. He was also a journalist, editing newspapers such as ''Vande Mataram''. He joined the ...
) sought refuge in French establishments in India to stay out of reach of the British colonial authorities.
Sikh-French Relations
Maharaja Ranjit Singh
Ranjit Singh (13 November 1780 – 27 June 1839), popularly known as Sher-e-Punjab or "Lion of Punjab", was the first Maharaja of the Sikh Empire, which ruled the northwest Indian subcontinent in the early half of the 19th century. He s ...
had more than 2000 French soldiers in his military. Three became generals and were key in the modernization of the Khalsa Army. He also hired many Italian, American, Spanish and Prussian soldiers. The ''Fauj-i-Khas
The ''Fauj-i-Khas'' was a brigade of the Fauj-i-Ain section of the Sikh Khalsa Army of Punjab. It consisted of very experienced elites and had separate flag and emblem. It was strictly disciplined on French pattern. All the equipment and weapons ...
'' was also known as the French division of the army and had French battle standard with its tricolor and eagle. The men who spearheaded the Europeanization of the army was Jean Francois Allard and Jean-Baptiste Ventura
Jean-Baptiste (Giovanni Battista) Ventura, born Rubino (25 May 1794 – 3 April 1858), was an Italian soldier, mercenary in India, general in Maharaja Ranjit Singh's Sarkar-i-Khalsa, and early archaeologist of the Punjab region of the Sikh Empi ...
. Even now a bust of Maharaja Ranjit Singh is in Saint-Tropez
, INSEE = 83119
, postal code = 83990
, image coat of arms = Blason ville fr Saint-Tropez-A (Var).svg
, image flag=Flag of Saint-Tropez.svg
Saint-Tropez (; oc, Sant Tropetz, ; ) is a commune in the Var department and the region of Provence-Al ...
, France.
India in World War I and World War II
Indian Expeditionary Force A
The British Indian Army, Indian Army during World War I was involved World War I. Over one million Indian troops served overseas, of whom 62,000 died and another 67,000 were wounded. In total at least 74,187 Indian soldiers died during the war. ...
, Indian Army Service Corps
The Indian Army Service Corps (IASC) is a corps and an arm of the Indian Army which handles its logistic support function. It is the oldest and the largest administrative service in the Indian Army. While the history of supply and transport serv ...
and Imperial Service Troops
The Imperial Service Troops were forces raised by the princely states of the British Indian Empire. These troops were available for service alongside the Indian Army when such service was requested by the British government. At the beginning of ...
contributed to defend France during World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
and World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
.
Darwan Singh Negi
Darwan Singh Negi VC (4 March 188324 June 1950) was one of the first Indian soldiers to be awarded the Victoria Cross (VC), the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Common ...
, Gabar Singh Negi
Gabar Singh Negi VC (21 April 189510 March 1915) was a soldier in the British Indian Army during the First World War and a recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be ...
, Gobind Singh Rathore and Mir Dast
Mir Dast, (3 December 1874 – 19 January 1945) was an Indian soldier and a recipient of the Victoria Cross for action during the First World War, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Comm ...
were awarded the Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...
for exceptional gallantry on French battlefields. Flight Lieutenant Hardit Singh Malik of No. 28 Squadron RFC flew a Sopwith Camel
The Sopwith Camel is a British First World War single-seat biplane fighter aircraft that was introduced on the Western Front in 1917. It was developed by the Sopwith Aviation Company as a successor to the Sopwith Pup and became one of the b ...
over France during WWI.
Some of the more prominent battles involving troops from the India:
* Battle of Neuve Chapelle
The Battle of Neuve Chapelle (10–13 March 1915) took place in the First World War in the Artois region of France. The attack was intended to cause a rupture in the German lines, which would then be exploited with a rush to the Aubers Ridge and ...
* Battle of Armentières
The Battle of Armentières (also Battle of Lille) was fought by German and Franco-British forces in northern France in October 1914, during reciprocal attempts by the armies to envelop the northern flank of their opponent, which has been called ...
* First Battle of Ypres
The First Battle of Ypres (french: Première Bataille des Flandres; german: Erste Flandernschlacht – was a battle of the First World War, fought on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front around Ypres, in West Flanders, Belgium. Th ...
* Battle of the Somme
The Battle of the Somme ( French: Bataille de la Somme), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place bet ...
* Battle of Loos
The Battle of Loos took place from 1915 in France on the Western Front, during the First World War. It was the biggest British attack of 1915, the first time that the British used poison gas and the first mass engagement of New Army units. Th ...
* Battle of Bazentin
* Battle of La Bassée
The Battle of La Bassée was fought by German and Franco-British forces in northern France in October 1914, during reciprocal attempts by the contending armies to envelop the northern flank of their opponent, which has been called the Race to th ...
* Battle of Flers-Courcelette
A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...
* Battle of Festubert
The Battle of Festubert (15–25 May 1915) was an attack by the British army in the Artois region of France on the western front during World War I. The offensive formed part of a series of attacks by the French Tenth Army and the British ...
* Battle of Aubers Ridge
The Battle of Aubers (Battle of Aubers Ridge) was a British offensive on the Western Front on 9 May 1915 during the First World War. The battle was part of the British contribution to the Second Battle of Artois, a Franco-British offensive int ...
* Battle of Cambrai
* the advance to the Hindenburg Line
The Hindenburg Line (German: , Siegfried Position) was a German defensive position built during the winter of 1916–1917 on the Western Front during the First World War. The line ran from Arras to Laffaux, near Soissons on the Aisne. In 191 ...
* First Battle of Champagne
The First Battle of Champagne (french: 1ère Bataille de Champagne) was fought from 1915 in World War I in the Champagne region of France and was the second offensive by the Allies against the German Empire since mobile warfare had ended after t ...
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
suffered the greatest World War I casualties
The total number of military and civilian casualties in World War I was about 40 million: estimates range from around 15 to 22 million deaths and about 23 million wounded military personnel, ranking it among the deadliest conflicts in ...
amongst dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories of the British Empire
The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...
. It is estimated that between 64,449 and 73,895 Indians died in Europe during the First World War (compared to between 59,330 and 62,081 Australians and between 58,639 and 64,997 Canadians).[''Statistics of the Military Effort of the British Empire During the Great War 1914–1920'', The War Office(1922), P.237](_blank)
[Commonwealth War Graves Commission Annual Report 2013-2014](_blank)
page 48. Figures include identified burials and those commemorated by name on memorials.
Of the 130,000 Indians who served in Somme and Flanders theatre of operations during World War One, almost 9,000 died. According to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) is an intergovernmental organisation of six independent member states whose principal function is to mark, record and maintain the graves and places of commemoration of Commonwealth of Nations mil ...
, 8128 graves of soldiers of the Indian Army
The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four- ...
and porters of the Indian Labour Corps who perished in WWI and WWII are located in France.
Marshal Ferdinand Foch
Ferdinand Foch ( , ; 2 October 1851 – 20 March 1929) was a French general and military theorist who served as the Supreme Allied Commander during the First World War. An aggressive, even reckless commander at the First Marne, Flanders and Art ...
, the French Commander at the Battle of Neuve Chapelle
The Battle of Neuve Chapelle (10–13 March 1915) took place in the First World War in the Artois region of France. The attack was intended to cause a rupture in the German lines, which would then be exploited with a rush to the Aubers Ridge and ...
(4,200 Indian casualties), acknowledged the contribution of troops from India and said: ''"Return to your homes in the distant, sun-bathed East and proclaim how your countrymen drenched with their blood the cold northern land of France and Flanders, how they delivered it by their ardent spirit from the firm grip of a determined enemy; tell all India that we shall watch over their graves with the devotion due to all our dead. We shall cherish above all the memory of their example. They showed us the way, they made the first steps towards the final victory."''
Due to Hindu
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
funeral rites – where mortal remains are cremated – most Indian casualties are commemorated with inscriptions on war memorials at Neuve-Chapelle Indian Memorial
The Neuve-Chapelle Indian Memorial is a World War I memorial in France, located on the outskirts of the commune of Neuve-Chapelle, in the département of Pas-de-Calais. The memorial commemorates some 4,742 Indian soldiers with no known grave, ...
and the '' Anneau de la Mémoire'' of Notre Dame de Lorette Ablain St.-Nazaire French Military Cemetery rather than with individual graves. ''Ayette Indian and Chinese Cemetery'', ''La Chapelette British and Indian Cemetery'', ''Neuville-Sous-Montreuil Indian Cemetery'', ''Gorre British and Indian Cemetery'', ''Zelobes Indian Cemetery'', ''Étaples Military Cemetery
Étaples Military Cemetery is a Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemetery in Étaples, near Boulogne on the north-west coast of France. The cemetery holds over 11,500 dead from both World War I and World War II.
History
Étaples was the sce ...
'', ''Saint-Martin-lès-Boulogne Meerut Military Cemetery'', ''Cabaret-Rouge British Cemetery'', ''Béthune Town Cemetery'', '' Arques-la-Bataille British Cemetery'' and ''Mazargues War Cemetery, Marseilles'' are examples of military cemeteries which contain graves or memorials to Indian casualties in France. ''Dieppe Canadian War Cemetery
Dieppe Canadian War Cemetery is a Second World War military war grave cemetery, located in the village of Hautot-sur-Mer, south of Dieppe in Normandy, France. It contains Canadian and British soldiers killed during the Dieppe Raid on the 18/19 ...
'' contains the grave of Pilot Officer Dastur Rustom Nariman of the Royal Indian Air Force 12 Sqdn.(R.A.F.). Colonial troops and labourers, including those from the Indian Subcontinent, are collectively identified as ''lascars
A lascar was a sailor or militiaman from the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, the Arab world, British Somaliland, or other land east of the Cape of Good Hope, who was employed on European ships from the 16th century until the middle of the 2 ...
'' in French military necropolis as can be observed at '' Notre Dame de Lorette Ablain St.-Nazaire French Military Cemetery''.
A small number of Indians from French India, notably from Chandannagar
Chandannagar french: Chandernagor ), also known by its former name Chandernagore and French name Chandernagor, is a city in the Hooghly district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is headquarter of the Chandannagore subdivision and is part ...
, served as colonial infantrymen in the French Army
The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (french: Armée de Terre, ), is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces. It is responsible to the Government of France, along with the other components of the Armed For ...
during World War I. The '' Monument aux Morts'' in Pondicherry
Pondicherry (), now known as Puducherry ( French: Pondichéry ʊdʊˈtʃɛɹi(listen), on-dicherry, is the capital and the most populous city of the Union Territory of Puducherry in India. The city is in the Puducherry district on the sout ...
was built in memory of colonial troops from French India
French India, formally the ( en, French Settlements in India), was a French colony comprising five geographically separated enclaves on the Indian Subcontinent that had initially been factories of the French East India Company. They were ''de ...
. Pondicherry responded to the June 1940 appeal by Charles de Gaulle
Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (; ; (commonly abbreviated as CDG) 22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French army officer and statesman who led Free France against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government ...
and became the first French territory to abandon the collaborationist Vichy regime
Vichy France (french: Régime de Vichy; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was the fascist French state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II. Officially independent, but with half of its terr ...
and join Free France
Free France (french: France Libre) was a political entity that claimed to be the legitimate government of France following the dissolution of the Third Republic. Led by French general , Free France was established as a government-in-exile ...
.
Cession of French territories in India
France established diplomatic relations with the newly independent India in 1947. An agreement between France and India in 1948 stipulated that the inhabitants of France's Indian possessions would choose their political future. A treaty of cession was signed by the two countries in May 1956. It was ratified by the French parliament in May 1962. On 16 August 1962 India and France exchanged the instruments of ratification under which France ceded to India full sovereignty over the territories it held. Pondicherry and the other enclaves of Karaikal, Mahe and Yanam came to be administered as the Union Territory of Puducherry from 1 July 1963.
The merits and deficiencies of French colonial presence in India is disputed on accounts of the exploitative nature of colonial trade, segregation of French subjects within the colonial possessions along ethnic lines (Europeans and Creoles were differentiated from ethnic Indians on electoral lists) and the colonial use of indenture labour.
Development of bilateral relations
The bilateral relations with France, although globally positive, fluctuated in function of defence sales to Pakistan (Exocet
The Exocet () is a French-built anti-ship missile whose various versions can be launched from surface vessels, submarines, helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft.
Etymology
The missile's name was given by M. Guillot, then the technical director ...
missiles, Dassault Mirage III
The Dassault Mirage III () is a family of single/dual-seat, single-engine, fighter aircraft developed and manufactured by French aircraft company Dassault Aviation. It was the first Western European combat aircraft to exceed Mach 2 in horizonta ...
, Dassault Mirage 5
The Dassault Mirage 5 is a French supersonic attack aircraft designed by Dassault Aviation during the 1960s and manufactured in France and a number of other countries. It was derived from Dassault's popular Mirage III fighter and spawned sever ...
& Breguet Atlantic Breguet or Bréguet may refer to:
* Breguet (watch), watch manufacturer
**Abraham-Louis Breguet (1747–1823), Swiss watchmaker
**Louis-François-Clement Breguet (1804–1883), French physicist, watchmaker, electrical and telegraph work
* Bréguet ...
aircraft and Daphné-class & Agosta 90B-class submarines) and were offset by especially strong relations in the fields of civil nuclear energy and aerospace.
Visits by Head of State and Head of Government
A key milestone in the bilateral relationship was the visit in 1998 by President Jacques Chirac
Jacques René Chirac (, , ; 29 November 193226 September 2019) was a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. Chirac was previously Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and from 1986 to 1988, as well as Ma ...
. The visit elevated the relationship through the signing of India's first ever strategic partnership.
In January 2008, President Nicolas Sarkozy
Nicolas Paul Stéphane Sarközy de Nagy-Bocsa (; ; born 28 January 1955) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2007 to 2012.
Born in Paris, he is of Hungarian, Greek Jewish, and French origin. Mayor of Neuilly-sur-Se ...
visited India and was the chief guest at India's Republic Day
Republic Day is the name of a holiday in several countries to commemorate the day when they became republics.
List
January 1 January in Slovak Republic
The day of creation of Slovak republic. A national holiday since 1993. Officially cal ...
parade.
In September 2008, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh
Manmohan Singh (; born 26 September 1932) is an Indian politician, economist and statesman who served as the 13th prime minister of India from 2004 to 2014. He is also the third longest-serving prime minister after Jawaharlal Nehru and Indir ...
made a major visit to France.
On 14 July 2009, Prime Minister of India Manmohan Singh
Manmohan Singh (; born 26 September 1932) is an Indian politician, economist and statesman who served as the 13th prime minister of India from 2004 to 2014. He is also the third longest-serving prime minister after Jawaharlal Nehru and Indir ...
was the Guest of Honour for the Bastille Day Celebrations held in Paris. The 2009 Bastille Day military parade opened with a contingent of Indian troops drawn from the three services (Indian Army
The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four- ...
, Indian Navy
The Indian Navy is the maritime branch of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy. The Chief of Naval Staff, a four-star admiral, commands the navy. As a blue-water navy, it operates sig ...
and Indian Air Force
The Indian Air Force (IAF) is the air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its complement of personnel and aircraft assets ranks third amongst the air forces of the world. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial w ...
). Soldiers including Jawans
A private is a soldier, usually with the lowest rank in many armies. Soldiers with the rank of Private may be conscripts or they may be professional (career) soldiers.
The term derives from the medieval term "private soldiers" (a term still us ...
of Maratha Light Infantry
The Maratha Light Infantry is a light infantry regiment of the Indian Army. It traces its lineage to the Bombay Sepoys, raised in 1768, making it the most senior light infantry regiment in the Indian Army. The class composition of the regiment ...
Regiment Centre (MLIRC) marched down the ''Avenue Champs-Élysées
The Avenue des Champs-Élysées (, ; ) is an avenue in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, France, long and wide, running between the Place de la Concorde in the east and the Place Charles de Gaulle in the west, where the Arc de Triomphe is lo ...
'' to the sound of an Indian military band playing Indian martial tunes including ''Saare Jahan Se Achcha
"Sare Jahan se Accha" (Urdu: ; ''Sāre Jahāṉ se Acchā''), formally known as "Tarānah-e-Hindi" (Urdu: , "Anthem of the People of Hindustan"), is an Urdu language patriotic song for children written by poet Allama Muhammad Iqbal in the ...
'', ''Haste Lushai'' and '' Kadam Kadam Badaye Ja''.
French President Sarkozy undertook his second visit to India from 4–7 December 2010.
French President Francois Hollande visited India on 14–15 February 2013.
Indian Prime-Minister Narendra Modi was in Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
on 10–11 April 2015 for strategic bilateral discussions with French President François Hollande. A joint status report established the current state of the bilateral relationship and plans for the future through the April 2015 ''India-France joint statement''.
On 30 November 2015, Indian Prime-Minister Narendra Modi travelled to France for a 2-day visit to attend the ''COP 21'' 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference
The 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP 21 or CMP 11 was held in Paris, France, from 30 November to 12 December 2015. It was the 21st yearly session of the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the 1992 United Nations Framework Conve ...
in Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
. Narendra Modi and François Hollande jointly invited over 100 world leaders to join ''InSPA'' (International Agency for Solar Policy & Application) – a global initiative to promote low-carbon renewable solar energy technologies.
January 2016 visit by French President François Hollande
A French delegation headed by President François Hollande
François Gérard Georges Nicolas Hollande (; born 12 August 1954) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2012 to 2017. He previously was First Secretary of the Socialist Party (PS) from 1997 to 2008, Mayor of Tulle from ...
and including several French cabinet ministers (foreign minister Laurent Fabius
Laurent Fabius (; born 20 August 1946) is a French politician serving as President of the Constitutional Council since 8 March 2016. A member of the Socialist Party, he previously served as Prime Minister of France from 17 July 1984 to 20 Marc ...
, defence minister Jean-Yves Le Drian
Jean-Yves Le Drian (; born 30 June 1947) is a French politician who served as Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs in the First Philippe government, governments of Prime Ministers Édouard Philippe and ...
, finance minister Michel Sapin
Michel Sapin (; born 9 April 1952 is a French politician who served as Minister of Finance from 1992 to 1993 and again from 2014 to 2017. He is a member of the Socialist Party.
He was Minister of the Civil Service from 2000 to 2002 and Minis ...
, culture minister Fleur Pellerin
Fleur Pellerin (; Birth name, née Kim Jong-sook, born 29 August 1973) is a French businesswoman, former civil servant and Socialist Party (France), Socialist Party politician who served as a Government of France, French government minister from ...
and environment minister Segolene Royal) travelled to India on 24 January 2016 for a 3-day visit.
Speaking at the Indo-French CEOs Forum and the India France Business Summit in Chandigarh on 24 January 2016, President François Hollande set the tone for the visit by stating his intentions: "My visit has 2 main goals – Consolidate the strategic partnership with India and implement decisions taken during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to France". Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi reciprocated by declaring that "India and France are made for each other" (...) "The trust and friendship with France is an asset for us" and by emphasising the need to consolidate people-to-people ties between India & France: "Our strategic partnership is not just between Paris and New Delhi. It is with each and every one of you".
French President François Hollande was the chief guest at the 67th. Indian Republic Day parade in New Delhi on 26 January 2016. France,along with Britain are the only countries to be invited a record-setting 5 times to the highly symbolic national ceremonial event. The 2016 Indian Republic Day parade included the first-ever participation of foreign troops in the march-past. 124 French Army soldiers from the 35th. Infantry Regiment of the 7th. Armoured Brigade based in Belfort
Belfort (; archaic german: Beffert/Beffort) is a city in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in Northeastern France, situated between Lyon and Strasbourg, approximately from the France–Switzerland border. It is the prefecture of the Territo ...
and a ceremonial military band-music contingent based in Lyon
Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...
marched down Rajpath
Rajpath, officially named Kartavya Path, and formerly known as Kingsway, is a ceremonial boulevard in New Delhi, India, that runs from Rashtrapati Bhavan on Raisina Hill through Vijay Chowk and India Gate, National War Memorial to Nation ...
in New Delhi.
The visit gained favourable media coverage which underscored the consistently cordial and exceptional nature of Indo-French bilateral relations and decoded the political significance of the protocol courtesies extended to France. Leading Indian newspapers published editorials lauding successful bilateral cooperation in the domains of science and technology, aerospace, nuclear energy, defence and counter-terrorism. Kanwal Sibal, the former Foreign Secretary of India and who had also been India's Ambassador to France opined: "He (President Hollande) recognises the esteem India has for France and the growing affinity between the two countries." (...) "Hollande attaches value to the personal rapport he has developed with Modi, recognises the dynamism he is imparting to the Indian economy and believes in the growing affinity between the two countries. On this basis the Indo-French strategic ties should grow in strength."
March 2018 visit by French President Emmanuel Macron
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi received the French President Emmanuel Macron. The two counterparts discussed the French-Indian relations over the years and signed multiple agreements. Modi commented that although the strategic partnership between the two countries is "just 20 years old, our cultural and spiritual partnership is older. The values of liberty, equality, and fraternity echo not just in France but have been embedded in India’s Constitution as well." Macron told the media, "We want India as our first strategic partner here, and we want to be India’s first strategic partner in Europe, and even the western world."
In August 2019, Aparna Pande, Research fellow at the Hudson Institute
The Hudson Institute is a conservative American think tank based in Washington, D.C. It was founded in 1961 in Croton-on-Hudson, New York, by futurist, military strategist, and systems theorist Herman Kahn and his colleagues at the RAND Corporat ...
, penned an article claiming that France had become India's new best friend, replacing Russia as India's closest international partner.[Aparna Pande]
In Modi Era, France has Replaced Russia as India’s New Best Friend
Hudson Institute
The Hudson Institute is a conservative American think tank based in Washington, D.C. It was founded in 1961 in Croton-on-Hudson, New York, by futurist, military strategist, and systems theorist Herman Kahn and his colleagues at the RAND Corporat ...
Strategic partnership
The strategic partnership has profited from sustained political investments made at the senior-most levels of decision making. The long-standing relationship between France and India has resulted in extensive co-operation in the domains of aerospace and civil nuclear energy besides military matters. Science and technology cooperation, deep-rooted cultural ties, and a historically francophile literary & fine-arts community in India has provided solid foundations for the strategic relationship. In November 2011, the Foundation for National Security Research in New Delhi published ''India’s Strategic Partners: A Comparative Assessment'' and ranked India's top strategic partners with a score out of 90 points : Russia comes out on top with 62, followed by the United States (58), France (51), UK (41), Germany (37), and Japan (34).
Voting patterns of France in the UN Security Council on matters of core interest to India has endeared the country as ''all-weather friend'' of India. France was one of the few nations who did not condemn India's nuclear tests
Nuclear weapons tests are experiments carried out to determine nuclear weapons' effectiveness, yield, and explosive capability. Testing nuclear weapons offers practical information about how the weapons function, how detonations are affected by ...
in 1998 and has supported India's bid to become a permanent member of the UN Security Council
The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, and ...
as well as G-8. France is one of the largest suppliers of nuclear fuel
Nuclear fuel is material used in nuclear power stations to produce heat to power turbines. Heat is created when nuclear fuel undergoes nuclear fission.
Most nuclear fuels contain heavy fissile actinide elements that are capable of undergoing ...
to India, and signed a "Framework Agreement for Civil Nuclear Co-operation" in January 2008. After India's waiver from the Nuclear Suppliers Group
The Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) is a multilateral export control regime and a group of nuclear supplier countries that seek to prevent nuclear proliferation by controlling the export of materials, equipment and technology that can be used to m ...
(NSG), both nations signed an agreement that would pave the way for the sale of French-made nuclear reactor
A nuclear reactor is a device used to initiate and control a fission nuclear chain reaction or nuclear fusion reactions. Nuclear reactors are used at nuclear power plants for electricity generation and in nuclear marine propulsion. Heat from nu ...
s to India on 30 September 2008. France is a major supplier of military equipment to India. Procurement of Dassault Mirage 2000
The Dassault Mirage 2000 is a French multirole, single-engine, fourth-generation jet fighter manufactured by Dassault Aviation. It was designed in the late 1970s as a lightweight fighter to replace the Mirage III for the French Air Force (''Arm ...
fighter aircraft and a squadron of DCNS s (called s) are examples of strategic defence acquisitions. The armed-services of both nations conduct joint-exercises on an annual basis. France and India also maintain a discreet "strategic dialogue" that covers joint cooperation against terrorism
Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...
. The strategic autonomy of the French ''Force de frappe
The ''Force de frappe'' ( French: "strike force"), or ''Force de dissuasion'' ("deterrent force") after 1961,Gunston, Bill. Bombers of the West. New York: Charles Scribner's and Sons; 1973. p104 is the designation of what used to be a triad of ...
'' resonates well within Indian strategic circles.
French Overseas region
The overseas departments and regions of France (french: départements et régions d'outre-mer, ; ''DROM'') are departments of France that are outside metropolitan France, the European part of France. They have exactly the same status as mainlan ...
s of Réunion
Réunion (; french: La Réunion, ; previously ''Île Bourbon''; rcf, label= Reunionese Creole, La Rényon) is an island in the Indian Ocean that is an overseas department and region of France. It is located approximately east of the island ...
and Mayotte
Mayotte (; french: Mayotte, ; Shimaore: ''Maore'', ; Kibushi: ''Maori'', ), officially the Department of Mayotte (french: Département de Mayotte), is an overseas department and region and single territorial collectivity of France. It is loc ...
establish French sovereign presence in the Indian Ocean. Réunion has a significant ethnic Indian population colloquially called ''Malbars
Malbars or Malabars are an ethnic group of South Indian Tamil origin in Réunion, a French island in the Southwest Indian Ocean, The Malbars constitute 25% of the population of Réunion and are estimated to be around 180,000.
There have been pe ...
'' and which includes all Réunionnais of Indian origin
Réunionnais of Indian origin are people of Indian origin in Réunion. They form two ethnic groups on the island, Malbars (Tamils) and Zarabes (Muslims).
Origins
Originally brought in as indentured laborers, as in Mauritius, they were mostly of ...
. Réunion's location in the Indian Ocean makes France ideally positioned to leverage advantages of the ''Neighbourhood first policy
Neighbourhood First Policy of India, a core component of India's foreign policy, focuses on peaceful relations and collaborative synergetic co-development with its South Asian neighbors of the Indian subcontinent encompassing a diverse range ...
'' and ''Indian Ocean outreach'' priorities which were announced by the government of Narendra Modi.
On 20 November 2015, a week after the attacks in Paris, French Minister Laurent Fabius visited New Delhi and met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj. The talks centered around enhancing cooperation to fight terrorism, as well as preparations for the 2015 Climate summit in Paris. After the meeting Fabius stated that France and India were "in the same boat" with regards to terrorism saying, "I want to say that France is grateful for tremendous support it has received from the international community including Indian friends ... We have a good cooperation with our Indian friends on this. I was discussion it this morning with Prime Minister Modi. We shall develop our cooperation."
Institutional Structure for dialogue
France and India have instituted a Strategic Dialogue at the level of National Security Advisers whose 27th round of Strategic Dialogue was held in Paris on 12–13 January 2015. The last Foreign Office Consultations at the level of Foreign Secretaries was held in Paris on 17 June 2013.
Military relation
Defense partnership and cooperation is built on historic French and Indian military interactions which stretch back to the Carnatic Wars
The Carnatic Wars were a series of military conflicts in the middle of the 18th century in India's coastal Carnatic region, a dependency of Hyderabad State, India. Three Carnatic Wars were fought between 1744 and 1763.
The conflicts involved n ...
. India was heavily involved in both World War I and World War II and suffered huge loss of lives on battlefields in France.
A 400-strong contingent of the Indian armed forces led the Bastille Day parade in 2009 for which the Prime Minister of India was the Guest of Honour – the first time ever that Indian troops took part in another country's national day parade.
Under the framework of the structured talks under the Indo-French Defence Cooperation Agreement several meetings on industrial collaboration and service exchanges are held regularly. The 3rd meeting of the JWG on Counter-terrorism was held in New Delhi on 19–20 November 2012. The 11th meeting of the Indo-French Research Forum (IFRF) was held in Paris from 17 to 19 December 2012. The 15th. High Level Committee for Defence Cooperation (HCDC) at the level of Defence Secretaries, met in Paris on 12 January 2015.
Indo-French Air Force Exercise ''Garuda IV'' was held at Istres air base in France from 14 to 25 June 2010.
Indo-French Joint Naval Exercise ''Varuna'' was held in the Mediterranean sea off the port of Toulon from 19 to 22 July 2012.
The first Indo-France joint army exercise named Shakti was conducted in India at Chaubattia from 9–22 October 2011.
In 2013, Army chief General Bikram Singh visited ''Commandement des Forces Terrestres'' Land Forces Command in Lille and the French Military School at Draguignan.
In 2015, Vice Admiral SPS Cheema, FOC-in-C West was hosted by the French Navy at Toulon.
The Indo-French Joint Army exercise was held in Rajasthan, India from 19 to 21 January 2016.
Indian Prime Minister Modi stated that "We consider France one of our most reliable defense allies."
Indian and French Navies will be able to use each other's naval bases, under an agreement signed in 2018. Indian warships will be able to use French bases in Indian and southern Pacific oceans.
At the Shangri-La Dialogue
The IISS Asia Security Summit: The Shangri-La Dialogue (SLD) is a " Track One" inter-governmental security conference held annually in Singapore by an independent think tank, the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS). The dialogu ...
in Singapore in 2018, French and British defense ministers announced they would sail warships through the South China Sea to challenge China's military expansion.
Intensified collaboration with India and the Quad
On 9 September 2020, France, India and Australia held their first India-France-Australia Trilateral Dialogue, with their foreign secretaries meeting through videoconference. They discussed geostrategic challenges, their respective strategies for a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific, and prospects for cooperation in the region, especially in the context of the covid public health crisis.
In February 2021, France announced that a French Rubis-class nuclear attack submarine, Emeraude, has successfully concluded a passage of the South China Sea to prove the capacity for the connection with Australian, American and Japanese strategic partners.
On 24 February, a India-France-Australia Trilateral Dialogue meeting was held, to take stock of the progress made on the outcomes of the foreign secretary level trilateral dialogue held in September 2020. This included amongst others maritime security
Maritime security is an umbrella term informed to classify issues in the Maritime transport, maritime domain that are often related to national security, marine environment, economic development, and human security. This includes the world's ocean ...
, humanitarian aid
Humanitarian aid is material and logistic assistance to people who need help. It is usually short-term help until the long-term help by the government and other institutions replaces it. Among the people in need are the homeless, refugees, and ...
and disaster relief
Emergency management or disaster management is the managerial function charged with creating the framework within which communities reduce vulnerability to hazards and cope with disasters. Emergency management, despite its name, does not actuall ...
, blue economy
Blue economy is a term in economics relating to the exploitation, preservation and regeneration of the marine environment. Its scope of interpretation varies among organizations. However, the term is generally used in the scope of international ...
, protection of marine global commons Global commons is a term typically used to describe international, supranational, and global resource domains in which common-pool resources are found. Global commons include the earth's shared natural resources, such as the high oceans, the atmosph ...
, combatting illegal fishing
Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUU) is an issue around the world. Fishing industry observers believe IUU occurs in most fisheries, and accounts for up to 30% of total catches in some important fisheries.
Illegal fishing takes pl ...
, and cooperation in multilateral fora. They also discussed the next steps to be taken for furthering trilateral cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region.
On 30 March 2021, French Navy
The French Navy (french: Marine nationale, lit=National Navy), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the five military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in t ...
’s amphibious assault helicopter carrier Tonnerre and escort frigate Surcouf arrived at the Kochi
Kochi (), also known as Cochin ( ) ( the official name until 1996) is a major port city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of K ...
port in Kerala
Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...
, India, ahead of a joint naval exercise with the four Quad member countries. The French naval drill exercise is called '' La Perouse'' and is scheduled to take place from 5 to 7 April 2021. The 2021 edition will be the first edition with participants from all four Quad members. The two warships are on a five-month-long deployment in the Indo-Pacific.
On 13 April, a new India-France-Australia Trilateral Dialogue meeting is planned in New Delhi
New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...
.
Trade & Investment
Indo-French bilateral trade has been growing though it has still not reached the €12 billion target set by both the Governments during the visit of the French President to India in January 2008. In 2011, bilateral trade had increased by 6% to €7.46 billion. In the first ten months of 2012, there has been a decrease of 3.71% in the bilateral trade overall the same period of 2011. Based on the annual data, the Indian exports of services to France have shown a growth in the last three years reaching €1.32 bn in 2011 while the imports from France fell to €0.66 bn in the same year.
Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)
France is the 9th largest foreign investor in India with a cumulative investment of approximately US$3 billion nvestment was of the order of US$2.98 billion during the period April 2000 to June 2012, which represents 2% of total inflows The technical and financial collaborations approved with France number 952. Top sectors attracting FDI inflows from France are Chemicals (other than fertilisers) (18.80%), Cement and Gypsum Products (15.82%), Services Sector (financial & non-financial) (9.41%), Fuels (power & oil refinery) (6.47%) & Electrical Equipments (including computer software & electronics) (5.34%) and auto sector. There are about 800 French companies in India (subsidiaries or JVs, representative offices or branch offices with about 150,000 employees).
In 2011, India was the 13th largest foreign investor in France in terms of project numbers. Indian Investments in France have been growing and Indian companies have invested around €1 billion from April 1996 in different sectors like pharmaceuticals (Ranbaxy and Wockhardt), Software (Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys
Infosys Limited is an Indian Multinational corporation, multinational information technology company that provides business consulting, information technology and outsourcing services. The company was founded in Pune and is headquartered in Ba ...
& Wipro
Wipro Limited (formerly, Western India Palm Refined Oils Limited) is an Indian multinational corporation that provides information technology, consulting and business process services. Thierry Delaporte is serving as CEO and managing director ...
), Wine (Kingfisher), Steel (Tata, Electrosteel), Plastics (Sintex
Sintex group, formerly known as The Bharat Vijay Mills Ltd and Sintex Industries Ltd, is the world's largest producer of plastic water tanks and Asia's largest manufacturer of corduroy fabrics. Sintex operates in Europe, America, Africa, and A ...
), Railway wagons (Titagarh Wagons), Aerospace (Cades/Axis) & Autoparts (Jyoti) etc.110 Indian-owned companies, including 27 greenfield investments, are present in France and are employing over 5,600 persons.
The Indo-French CEOs Forum, formed in 2009, has been tasked to identify new avenues for cooperation and take initiatives to facilitate business links between both countries. The 16th session of the Joint Committee for Economic and Technical Cooperation, at the level of Ministers of Commerce which deals with issues related to commerce and trade, was held on 23–25 June 2010 in Paris. The fifth meeting of India France CEOs’ Forum was held in New Delhi on 22–23 November 2012.
Aerospace
Aviation
Indian companies are major clients for Airbus
Airbus SE (; ; ; ) is a European Multinational corporation, multinational aerospace corporation. Airbus designs, manufactures and sells civil and military aerospace manufacturer, aerospace products worldwide and manufactures aircraft througho ...
& ATR ATR may refer to:
Medicine
* Acute transfusion reaction
* Ataxia telangiectasia and Rad3 related, a protein involved in DNA damage repair
Science and mathematics
* Advanced Test Reactor, nuclear research reactor at the Idaho National Laboratory, ...
aircraft. Air India
Air India is the flag carrier airline of India, headquartered at New Delhi. It is owned by Talace Private Limited, a Special-Purpose Vehicle (SPV) of Tata Sons, after Air India Limited's former owner, the Government of India, completed the sa ...
, IndiGo
Indigo is a deep color close to the color wheel blue (a primary color in the RGB color space), as well as to some variants of ultramarine, based on the ancient dye of the same name. The word "indigo" comes from the Latin word ''indicum'', m ...
and AirAsia India
AirAsia India is an Indian low-cost airline headquartered in Bangalore (Bengaluru), Karnataka. The airline was a joint venture between Tata Sons and AirAsia Bhd. Tata Sons currently holds 100% stake in the airline, after AirAsia Bhd sold its r ...
host extensive fleets of Airbus passenger aircraft.
France has been a long-standing and reliable supplier of fighter planes and light utility helicopters to the Indian armed services with aircraft such as Breguet Alizé Breguet or Bréguet may refer to:
* Breguet (watch), watch manufacturer
**Abraham-Louis Breguet (1747–1823), Swiss watchmaker
**Louis-François-Clement Breguet (1804–1883), French physicist, watchmaker, electrical and telegraph work
* Bréguet ...
, Dassault Ouragan
The Dassault M.D.450 Ouragan (french: Hurricane) is a French fighter-bomber developed and produced by Dassault Aviation. It has its origins in a private venture by Dassault to produce an all-French aircraft which would make use of jet propulsio ...
, Dassault Mystère IV
The Dassault MD.454 Mystère IV is a 1950s French fighter-bomber aircraft, the first transonic aircraft to enter service with the French Air Force. It was used in large-scale combat in the Israeli Air Force during the 1967 Six Day War.
Design ...
, Sepecat Jaguar
The SEPECAT Jaguar is an Anglo-French jet attack aircraft originally used by the British Royal Air Force and the French Air Force in the close air support and nuclear strike role. It is still in service with the Indian Air Force.
Originall ...
, Aerospatiale SA 315B Lama, Aérospatiale Alouette III
The Aérospatiale Alouette III (, ''Lark''; company designations SA 316 and SA 319) is a single-engine, light utility helicopter developed by France, French aircraft company Sud Aviation. During its production life, it proved to be a relatively p ...
and Dassault Mirage 2000
The Dassault Mirage 2000 is a French multirole, single-engine, fourth-generation jet fighter manufactured by Dassault Aviation. It was designed in the late 1970s as a lightweight fighter to replace the Mirage III for the French Air Force (''Arm ...
. France also supplies Turbomeca TM 333
The Turbomeca TM 333 is a turboshaft engine manufactured by French company Turbomeca and designed for helicopters weighing 4-5 tonnes. It first ran in August 1981 and was introduced commercially in the mid-1980s. It was the first Turbomeca engin ...
and jointly developed the HAL/Turbomeca Shakti
The Safran Ardiden is a turboshaft designed and produced by Safran Helicopter Engines for single and twin-engine helicopters.
Launched in 2003 as a more powerful TM 333, it first ran in 2005 and was introduced in 2007.
The Ardiden 1 ''Shakt ...
helicopter engines for HAL Dhruv
The HAL Dhruv is a utility helicopter designed and developed by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) in November 1984. The helicopter first flew in 1992; however, its development was prolonged due to multiple factors including the Indian Army ...
. DRDO
The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) (IAST: ''Raksā Anūsandhān Evam Vikās Sangaṭhan'') is the premier agency under the Department of Defence Research and Development in Ministry of Defence of the Government of India, ...
3D Multi-Function Control Radar (MFCR) was developed as part of the Indian anti-ballistic missile programme in cooperation with THALES
Thales of Miletus ( ; grc-gre, Θαλῆς; ) was a Greek mathematician, astronomer, statesman, and pre-Socratic philosopher from Miletus in Ionia, Asia Minor. He was one of the Seven Sages of Greece. Many, most notably Aristotle, regarded him ...
of France. DCNS is building six Scorpène submarines of the ''Kalvari'' class, which will be armed with SM.39 Exocet
The Exocet () is a French-built anti-ship missile whose various versions can be launched from surface vessels, submarines, helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft.
Etymology
The missile's name was given by M. Guillot, then the technical director ...
anti-ship missiles, under a technology transfer agreement at Mazagon Docks in Mumbai.
Dassault Rafale
The Dassault Rafale (, literally meaning "gust of wind", and "burst of fire" in a more military sense) is a French twin-engine, canard delta wing, multirole fighter aircraft designed and built by Dassault Aviation. Equipped with a wide ran ...
won the Indian MMRCA competition to supply 126 medium multi-role combat aircraft to the Indian Air Force
The Indian Air Force (IAF) is the air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its complement of personnel and aircraft assets ranks third amongst the air forces of the world. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial w ...
. In April 2015, the inabilities to conclude negotiations on contractual obligations led the Modi government to transform the acquisition into a G2G procurement for 36 aircraft in flyaway condition to equip 3 squadrons of the Indian Air Force
The Indian Air Force (IAF) is the air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its complement of personnel and aircraft assets ranks third amongst the air forces of the world. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial w ...
. Defense analysts have voiced concern that equipment procurement requirements which were defined 2 decades ago are out of sync with current requirements and the future nature of air-combat. Air forces of advanced Western nations, especially US & France, are reorganizing their air forces with increase in space-based assets and downsizing of fleets of manned combat aircraft. Autonomous drones have become the preferred platform for high-risk missions over enemy territory in both high and low intensity conflict zones. At present, NATO uses aerial reconnaissance drones to monitor the borders of Europe and US uses maritime surveillance drones in the Western Pacific and unmanned combat drones in missions against low-value and unsophisticated targets in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya and Syria. Defense white-papers published in OECD
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; french: Organisation de coopération et de développement économiques, ''OCDE'') is an intergovernmental organisation with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate e ...
countries show that use of combat and reconnaissance pilotless vehicles (like the flight-tested Dassault nEUROn and Northrop Grumman X-47B
The Northrop Grumman X-47B is a demonstration unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) designed for aircraft carrier-based operations. Developed by the American defense technology company Northrop Grumman, the X-47 project began as part of DARPA' ...
UAV
An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), commonly known as a drone, is an aircraft without any human pilot, crew, or passengers on board. UAVs are a component of an unmanned aircraft system (UAS), which includes adding a ground-based controller ...
s or the Boeing X-37
The Boeing X-37, also known as the Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV), is a reusable robotic spacecraft. It is boosted into space by a launch vehicle, then re-enters Earth's atmosphere and lands as a spaceplane. The X-37 is operated by the United Stat ...
robotic spacecraft
A robotic spacecraft is an uncrewed spacecraft, usually under telerobotic control. A robotic spacecraft designed to make scientific research measurements is often called a space probe. Many space missions are more suited to telerobotic rather t ...
) will become widespread in the years ahead.
Space
ISRO
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO; ) is the national space agency of India, headquartered in Bengaluru. It operates under the Department of Space (DOS) which is directly overseen by the Prime Minister of India, while the Chairman ...
and CNES
The (CNES; French: ''Centre national d'études spatiales'') is the French government space agency (administratively, a "public administration with industrial and commercial purpose"). Its headquarters are located in central Paris and it is und ...
(French National Space Agency) have an umbrella agreement, operating successfully since 1993, under which joint missions like Megha-Tropiques and SARAL
SARAL (''S''atellite with ''AR''gos and ''AL''tiKa) is a cooperative altimetry technology mission of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and Centre National d'Études Spatiales (CNES). SARAL performs altimetric measurements designed to s ...
have been successfully developed. ISRO has launched French SPOT satellites (Spot-6 & SPOT-7) on PSLV satellite launch vehicles.
Under a commercial Launch Service Agreement between Antrix Corporation Limited (ANTRIX), the commercial arm of ISRO and ASTRIUM SAS, a Company under EADS, France, two advanced Remote Sensing SPOT
Spot or SPOT may refer to:
Places
* Spot, North Carolina, a community in the United States
* The Spot, New South Wales, a locality in Sydney, Australia
* South Pole Traverse, sometimes called the South Pole Overland Traverse
People
* Spot (produ ...
satellites were successfully launched in 2013 & 2014 on-board ISRO
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO; ) is the national space agency of India, headquartered in Bengaluru. It operates under the Department of Space (DOS) which is directly overseen by the Prime Minister of India, while the Chairman ...
's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle.
Arianespace based at France has been the major provider of launch services to Indian Geo-Stationary satellites. Subsequent to the launch of APPLE satellite, 18 Indian satellites have been launched by Arianespace. On 7 October 2016, GSAT-18
GSAT-18 is an Indian communications satellite. Built by ISRO and operated by INSAT, it carries 24 C-band, 12 extended C-band, and 12 Ku-band transponders.
The satellite was launched on 5 October 2016 at approximately 20:30 UTC aboard an ...
communication satellite was launched successfully on board an Ariane 5
Ariane 5 is a European heavy-lift space launch vehicle developed and operated by Arianespace for the European Space Agency (ESA). It is launched from the Centre Spatial Guyanais (CSG) in French Guiana. It has been used to deliver payloads int ...
VA-231 launcher from Kourou
Kourou () is a commune in French Guiana, an overseas region and department of France in South America. Kourou is famous for being the location of the Guiana Space Centre, the main spaceport of France and the European Space Agency (ESA). It i ...
, French Guiana.
Civil Nuclear Energy
A landmark Framework Agreement on Civil Nuclear Cooperation was signed between India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
and France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
on 30 September 2008 during the visit of Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh to France. Subsequently, during the visit of President Nicolas Sarkozy
Nicolas Paul Stéphane Sarközy de Nagy-Bocsa (; ; born 28 January 1955) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2007 to 2012.
Born in Paris, he is of Hungarian, Greek Jewish, and French origin. Mayor of Neuilly-sur-Se ...
to India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
from 4–7 December 2010, the General Framework Agreement and the Early Works Agreement between NPCIL
The Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) is an Indian public sector undertaking based in Mumbai, Maharashtra. It is wholly owned by the Government of India and is responsible for the generation of electricity from nuclear power. ...
and Areva
Areva S.A. is a French multinational group specializing in nuclear power headquartered in Courbevoie, France. Before its 2016 corporate restructuring, Areva was majority-owned by the French state through the French Alternative Energies and Atom ...
for implementation of EPR NPP Units at Jaitapur Nuclear Power Project
Jaitapur Nuclear Power Project is a proposed nuclear power plant in India.
If built, it would be the largest nuclear power generating station in the world by net generation capacity, at 9,900 MW.
The power project is proposed by Nuclea ...
were signed.
Healthcare
Several French firms (Aventis, Rhodia, Pasteur Institute) are active in the life-sciences and medicare sector.
In February 2015, William Haseltine, president of ACCESS Health International and a former professor at Harvard Medical School opined that French healthcare was the best in the world surpassing even Singapore.
Indian life insurance market is the fastest growing in the world and the seventh largest.
Education
Indians spend 7.5% of household income on education.
''Campus France India'', a student recruitment initiative of the French embassy in India, is showcasing France as an education destination for Indian students. From 1 to 7 October 2015 representatives of French universities and visa officers would travel to Bangalore, Chennai, Pune and Kochi for a course opportunities and visa guidance road-show. French government is offering 5-year visas to encourage more Indian students to study in France and allowing students who have completed their studies in France an extra year to look for employment within their sector. In 2014, France hosted 3,000 Indian students many of whom were provided full-scholarships covering costs of education and allowance for boarding, lodging and air-travel. The low costs of high-quality education has made France the third most preferred destination worldwide for international students.
Education and Science & Technology
Education
The bilateral educational cooperation between India and France has grown over the last few years. France and India established a Consortrium of Indo-French Universities to increase educational cooperation. Around 300 MoUs have been signed between Indian and French universities and private institutions. The number of Indian students studying in France in various fields has increased over the years. For the academic year 2011–2012, 2550 Indian students came to France.
The framework for bilateral educational cooperation is provided by the Educational Exchange Programme (EEP), which includes mutual recognition of degrees, bolstering the research programme and increasing student-scholar research mobility through a flexible visa regime was signed in 2007 by Joint Secretary, Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Human Resource Development and Secretary, Cooperation and Culture, French Ministry of Foreign Affairs
The Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs () is the ministry of the Government of France that handles France's foreign relations. Since 1855, its headquarters have been located at 37 Quai d'Orsay, close to the National Assembly. The term Quai ...
(MFA). A Joint Working Group has also been set up under the EEP. One of the most important initiatives in the field of education has been the cooperation on the new IIT in Rajasthan, following a joint declaration in 2008. A Letter of Intent (LOI) has been signed in 2012.
In pursuant to the ''1956 Treaty establishing De Jure Cession of French Establishments in India'', France operates two world-class scientific research laboratories in India : French Institute of Pondicherry
The French Institute of Pondicherry (french: Institut français de Pondichéry) UMIFRE 21 is a French research centre in Puducherry, India, under the joint supervision of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the French National Centre ...
(IFP) and the École française d'Extrême-Orient
The French School of the Far East (french: École française d'Extrême-Orient, ), abbreviated EFEO, is an associated college of PSL University dedicated to the study of Asian societies. It was founded in 1900 with headquarters in Hanoi in wh ...
(EFEO). In December 2014, Pondicherry University
Pondicherry University, also known as PU, is a Central university (India), collegiate public central university located in Kalapet, Pondicherry in Union Territory of Puducherry, India. It was established by an Act of Parliament in 1985 by the ...
hosted the inaugural ''Indo-French Social Sciences Winter School''. Pondicherry University and French Institute of Pondicherry (IFP) are jointly conducting the ''2016 Social Sciences Winter School'' on the theme of Mobility and Social Dynamics from 28 November to 2 December 2016. The biennial event is attended by academics from France and India who lead multidisciplinary training workshops addressing theoretical and methodological issues in social science research.
Alliance Française
An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...
has an extensive network of 19 teaching-centres within India and is very popular for French-language courses and cultural programmes. French is the second most popular European language in India after English.
Scientific & Technical Cooperation
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
and India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
view each other as important partners in space technology and applications. Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and its French counterpart Centre National de Etudes Spatiales (CNES) have a history of cooperation and collaboration spanning about four decades. Scientific community of both nations cooperate in joint radiation experiment, space components development and space education. ISRO Vikas rocket engine benefited from Indo-French scientific collaboration in France on the Viking 4A engine built by CNES/SEP.
The Indo-French Centre for Promotion of Advanced Research (CEFIPRA) is the nodal framework for promoting bilateral scientific cooperation in fundamental and applied research, frontier technologies and exchange of scientists and post doctoral researchers. The office of CEFIPRA has been established in Delhi and the centre is currently funded through an annual corpus of €3 million with India and France equally contributing €1.5 million each. CEFIPRA completes 25 years in 2012. The 25th Anniversary Celebrations of CEFIPRA were formally launched in a programme organised in New Delhi on 6 March 2012. As part of the Silver Jubilee celebrations, a number of programmes have been envisaged; these include holding of seminars, organising science quiz in schools and screening of documentary films.
French authorities have provided land for extending the ''Maison de l‘Inde'' in France, which will contribute to augmenting accommodation facilities for Indian students in Paris.
Pasteur Institute in Coonoor
Coonoor, natively spelt as Kunnur (), is a Taluk and a municipality of the Nilgiris district in the Indian State of Tamil Nadu. As of 2011, the town had a population of 45,494.
Demographics
According to 2011 census, Coonoor had a population ...
, Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...
which opened on 6 April 1907 is one of the oldest vaccine manufacturing public sectors enterprises in India.
Collaborative efforts to preserve heritage buildings and Vedic literature in former French establishments in India has received popular appreciation among Indian populace and served to promote French technical expertise in restoration of monuments and documents. Indian heritage conservation societies rely heavily on technical assistance and documentary archives of the French Institute of Pondicherry for restoration projects.
Cultural Exchanges
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
n culture enjoys a wide and discerning audience among the French population, as is evident in the numerous and frequent cultural events organised all over France, spanning the entire gamut of Indian art, music, dance, cinema and literature. While the Indian Council for Cultural Relations
The Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), is an autonomous organisation of the Government of India, involved in India's global cultural relations, through cultural exchange with other countries and their people. It was founded on 9 Apri ...
(ICCR) sponsors visits of Indian artists to France as also exchange of students in the field of culture and art, there is a growing number of private impresarios who organise cultural events throughout France. A significant number of Indian artists are therefore giving performances in France regularly on a commercial basis or at the initiative of the various local cultural
associations outside the purview of the official exchanges. The Indo-French Cultural Exchange Programme (CEP) provides the overall umbrella for the organisation of a variety of cultural programmes. The last (16th) session of the Joint Commission on Culture which reviews the CEP was held on 29 September 2009, in New Delhi.
The Institut français en Inde
The French Institute in India is part of the worldwide network of " French institutes". The Delhi office is the only one in India, the Pondichery antenna of the institute being a research facility more than a cultural centre.
Background
Thi ...
is active in Delhi.
Namaste France
The 15-month-long Indian cultural festival- "Namaste France" was held from 14 April 2010 to 28 June 2011. It was successful in terms of putting India on the cultural radar of France. ‘Namaste France’ was a comprehensive presentation of Indian culture including art, music, dance, fashion, tourism, films, and literature as also business and education in both its traditional and contemporary forms.
The Namaste France Festival was organised in response to ‘Bonjour India’ a similar French cultural festival, organised by the French Embassy in India in 2009–2010. During the visit of Hon’ble Minister of Culture, Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation, Kumari Selja
Selja Kumari (born 24 September 1962) is an Indian politician and former parliamentarian. A member of the Indian National Congress, she has been the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (India), Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment a ...
to Paris to inaugurate the exhibition ‘The Last Harvest – Paintings of Tagore
Rabindranath Tagore (; bn, রবীন্দ্রনাথ ঠাকুর; 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was a Bengalis, Bengali polymath who worked as a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer and painter ...
at the prestigious Petit Palais
The Petit Palais (; en, Small Palace) is an art museum in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, France.
Built for the 1900 Exposition Universelle ("universal exhibition"), it now houses the City of Paris Museum of Fine Arts (''Musée des beaux-arts ...
museum from 26 January to 11 March 2012, a Declaration of Intent was signed with her French counterpart for further reinforcing cultural cooperation on 26 January 2012. On the same day, a MOU was signed between the Ministry of Culture of India and the Louvre Museum
The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...
with the aim of
establishing an active partnership in the area of exchange of competencies and expertise, particularly in the field of museology
Museology or museum studies is the study of museums. It explores the history of museums and their role in society, as well as the activities they engage in, including curating, preservation, public programming, and education.
Terminology
The w ...
, temporary exhibitions and other cultural events.
The 2012 Cannes Film Festival was important for India. For the first time, four Indian films were selected for screening in different categories of the festival namely ''Miss Lovely
''Miss Lovely'' is a 2012 Indian drama film directed by Ashim Ahluwalia and set in the criminal depths of Mumbai's C-grade (horror and porn film) industry. Ahluwalia's debut feature follows the story of the Duggal brothers who produce sleazy sex ...
'', '' Kalpana'', '' Peddlers'' and ''Gangs of Wasseypur
''Gangs of Wasseypur'' is a 2012 Indian Hindi-language two-part crime film produced and directed by Anurag Kashyap, and written by Kashyap and Zeishan Quadri. Centered on the coal mafia (Mafia Raj) of Dhanbad, and the underlying power struggle ...
''. India is going to celebrate 100 years of Indian cinema in 2013. The Cannes Festival (15–26 May 2013), the Vesoul International Film Festival of Asian Cinema
The Vesoul International Film Festival of Asian Cinema (French: Festival international des cinémas d'Asie) is an annual special-interest film festival focusing on the cinemas of Asia. The festival is held annually in Vesoul, France. It was create ...
(Festival international des cinémas d'Asie) from 5–12 February 2013, and the 35th International Short Film Festival of Clermont-Ferrand (1–9 February 2013) have confirmed India as a ‘Country of Honour’ in 2013 to celebrate the Centenary of the Indian Film Industry.
Bonjour India
In 1985 Indian performers were cheered at the Trocadero Alley in Paris, and in 1989 French artists enchanted audiences at Marine Drive in Mumbai. Two decades later, Bonjour India came back with a bang in 2009, and by 2013 it grew into more and more collaborations.
Scaling up in its third edition, Bonjour India 2017–18 is a four-month-long mega voyage across India that will celebrate Indo-French partnership as well as shape the next decade of human exchange between the two countries. From November 2017 to February 2018, Bonjour India covers around a 100 programmes and projects in over 30 cities across 20 states & union territories. Bonjour India provides a platform for enduring partnerships highlighting Indo-French innovation and creativity across the themes of Smart Citizen, High Mobility, Go Green.
Diaspora
Indian Community in France
According to statistics published by the Indian Embassy in Paris, the Indian community including NRIs in France is estimated to be around 106,000, largely originating from Puducherry, Karaikal, Yanam, Mahe and Chandranagar. There are large communities of PIOs in overseas territories/departments of France: Reunion Island (about 250,000), Guadeloupe (about 57,000), Martinique (about 6,000) and St. Martin (about 300).
Indians living in France have access to French social security protection and services through an agreement concluded in 2008.
French Community in India
The French in India are predominantly the remnants of the French presence in India, which began in 1673 with the establishment of French India and continued until 1962 when the French territory was formally transferred to India. The French presence was minor compared to the British and was generally ignored.
There were 12,864 French nationals residing in India in 1988. Nearly all are in the Union Territory of Puducherry Puducherry or Pondicherry may refer to:
* Puducherry (union territory), a union territory of India
** Pondicherry, capital of the union territory of Puducherry
** Puducherry district, a district of the union territory of Puducherry
** Puducherry tal ...
in south-eastern India (11,726 individuals in 1988), with much smaller numbers in Karaikal
Karaikal ( /kʌdɛkʌl/, french: Karikal /kaʁikal/) is a town of the Indian Union Territory of Puducherry. Karaikal was sold to the French by the Rajah of Thanjavur and became a French Colony in 1739. The French held control, with occasi ...
(695 individuals), Mahé (50), Yanam
Yanam (Telugu: ''యానాం'') is a town located in the Yanam district in Puducherry. It has a population of 35,000 and is entirely surrounded by Andhra Pradesh. It was formerly a French colony for nearly 200 years, and, though united wi ...
(46), and 342 elsewhere in India.
Economic migration from France has resulted in the rise of skilled French expatriates in the urban population centres of Bangalore
Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...
, Chennai
Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...
, Hyderabad
Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part ...
, Pune
Pune (; ; also known as Poona, (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million ...
, Mumbai
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...
and New Delhi
New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...
.
The French government had undertaken steps to strengthen Franco-Indian institutional and people-to-people ties.
Franco-Pondichérien
''Franco-Pondichérien'' or simply ''Pondichérien'' is a term given to French citizens of Indian or mixed ''Creole'' ethnicity who continue to reside in Puducherry and who can trace their nationality to the French colonial period. Franco-Pondichériens constitute less than 2 percent of the present population of Puducherry and whose presence can be termed as ranging from 'ignored' to 'tolerated'. Franco-Pondichériens are socially regarded as foreigners in India. In France, Franco-Pondichériens face racial profiling and discrimination, due to their South Asian or mixed-race ethnicity and are perceived either as second-class citizens or economic immigrants.
Franco-Pondichériens are customarily allowed access to Indian schools and universities on par with Non-Resident Indians
Overseas Indians (IAST: ), officially Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) and Overseas Citizens of India (OCIs) are Indians who live outside of the Republic of India. According to the Government of India, ''Non-Resident Indians'' are citizens of Indi ...
(NRI). India's tourism boom has turned Pondicherry into a popular travel destination and slowed the population decline of Franco-Pondichériens who find more business and work opportunities locally than having to repatriate to Europe.
Indian Citizenship Act
The Indian Citizenship Act of 1924, (, enacted June 2, 1924) was an Act of the United States Congress that granted US citizenship to the indigenous peoples of the United States. While the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution ...
of the Constitution of India forbids dual nationality. It is illegal to concurrently possess an Indian passport and foreign nationality and/or passport. Foreigners who possess ''Overseas Citizenship of India'' (OCI) continue to benefit consular protection from their country of nationality. Franco-Pondichériens who have served in the French armed services are disqualified from OCI: "foreign military personnel either in service or retired are not entitled for grant of OCI". Whereas OCI eligibility regarding conscripts
Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day un ...
who have undergone the mandatory military service or ''Journée défense et citoyenneté'' is unclear, Franco-Pondichériens enjoy treaty rights to visit India as guaranteed through Article IX of the ''1956 Treaty establishing De Jure Cession of French Establishments in India'': "French civil servants, magistrates and military personnel born in the Establishments or keeping there family links shall be permitted to return freely to the Establishments on leave or on retirement."
In February 2015, Indo French Senior Citizens Association staged street-protests in Pondicherry
Pondicherry (), now known as Puducherry ( French: Pondichéry ʊdʊˈtʃɛɹi(listen), on-dicherry, is the capital and the most populous city of the Union Territory of Puducherry in India. The city is in the Puducherry district on the sout ...
to protest against denial of the French nationality and voting rights derived from the ''1956 Treaty establishing De Jure Cession of French Establishments in India''. The 1956 treaty binds the Government of France to recognize French citizenship for individuals whose birth and nativity certificate had been registered during the French India
French India, formally the ( en, French Settlements in India), was a French colony comprising five geographically separated enclaves on the Indian Subcontinent that had initially been factories of the French East India Company. They were ''de ...
regime.
In June 2015, locally employed contractual staff at the French Consulate in Pondicherry stopped work to protest against wage discrimination.
Perceptions
Social studies conducted by French researchers are prone to emphasise on the lacunae of India's economy rather than achievements and improvements in the sphere of poverty reduction, health-care, education, etc. French media portray India in an unfavourable light by focussing principally on events connected to crimes, corruption, inequalities, poverty, ethnic & religious strife, etc.
The morbid fascination of European tourists with Hindu cremation rituals is perceived as lack of sensitivity besides being a gross invasion of privacy. Hoards of tourists flock to cremation grounds on the banks of the Ganges, especially in Varanasi (Bénarès), to photograph funeral pyres.
BBC World Service Country Rating Poll Data for France & India
According to a 2014 BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...
World Service Poll, 35% of Indians view France's influence positively, 40% neutral and 25% expressing a negative view, while 61% of the French view India's influence positively, 11% neutral and 28% expressing a negative view.[2014 World Service Poll](_blank)
''BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
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''
See also
* Foreign relations of India
India has diplomatic relations with 201 states/dependencies around the globe, having 199 missions and posts operating globally while plans to open new missions in 2020–21 hosted by 11 UN Member States.
The Ministry of External Affairs ( ...
* Indian diaspora in France
Indo-French people or Indians in France are expatriate residents of France from India, as well as people of Indian national origin. , there were an estimated 65,000 Indians living in metropolitan France, in addition to 300,000 Indians in the Fren ...
* Foreign relations of France
In the 19th century France built a new French colonial empire second only to the British Empire. It was humiliated in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, which marked the rise of Germany to dominance in Europe. France allied with Great Bri ...
* French space program
The French space program includes both commercial spaceflight, civil and military spaceflight activities. It is the third oldest national space program in the world, after the Soviet space program, Soviet (now Roscosmos, Russian) and Space policy ...
* French people in India
The French community in India consists mainly of Indian citizens of French ancestry who are descended from former French settlers and colonists who settled in India since the 17th century, as well as recent expatriates from France.
History
T ...
* Institut français en Inde
The French Institute in India is part of the worldwide network of " French institutes". The Delhi office is the only one in India, the Pondichery antenna of the institute being a research facility more than a cultural centre.
Background
Thi ...
* French Institute of Pondicherry
The French Institute of Pondicherry (french: Institut français de Pondichéry) UMIFRE 21 is a French research centre in Puducherry, India, under the joint supervision of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the French National Centre ...
* India–European Union relations
External links
Indian Ministry for External Affairs
Indian Embassy in France
Permanent Delegation of India to UNESCO
French Ministry of Foreign Affairs
French Embassy in India
French Institute of Pondicherry
The French Institute of Pondicherry (french: Institut français de Pondichéry) UMIFRE 21 is a French research centre in Puducherry, India, under the joint supervision of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the French National Centre ...
1956 Treaty establishing De Jure Cession of French Establishments in India
Indo-French partnership on Kaziranga project
Notes and references
Further reading
* Agmon, Danna. "The Currency of Kinship: Trading Families and Trading on Family in Colonial French India." ''Eighteenth-Century Studies'' (2014): 137-15
online
* Agmon, Danna. ''A Colonial Affair: Commerce, Conversion, and Scandal in French India'' ((Cornell University Press, 2017)
* Bayly, Susan. “Imagining ‘Greater India’: French and Indian Visions of Colonialism in the Indic Mode.” ''Modern Asian Studies'' 38#3, (2004), pp. 703–44, .
* Beasley, Faith E. ''Versailles Meets the Taj Mahal: François Bernier, Marguerite de la Sablière and Enlightening Conversations in Seventeenth-Century France'' (U of Toronto Press, 2018).
* Chester, Lucy P. “The Mapping of Empire: French and British Cartographies of India in the Late-Eighteenth Century.” ''Portuguese Studies'', vol. 16, (2000), pp. 256–75, .
* Das, Aditya, ed. ''Defending British India Against Napoleon: The Foreign Policy of Governor-General Lord Minto, 1807-13'' (Boydell & Brewer, 2016).
* Das, Sonia N. "Failed legacies of colonial linguistics: lessons from Tamil books in French India and French Guiana." ''Comparative Studies in Society and History'' 59.4 (2017): 846-88
online
* de Vos, F. H. “FRANCOIS CARON AND THE FRENCH EAST INDIA COMPANY.” ''The Journal of the Ceylon Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain & Ireland'' 18#55, (1904), pp. 313–20, .
* Dibadj, Reza. "Compagnie des Indes: governance and bailout." in ''Origins of shareholder advocacy'' (Palgrave Macmillan, New York, 2011) pp. 169-186.
* Goswami, Niranjan, ed. ''Desiring India: Representations through British and French Eyes 1584-1857.'' (Jadavpur University Press, 2020
online
* Hammerbeck, David. ''French Theatre, Orientalism, and the Representation of India, 1770-1865: India Lost and Regained'' (Routledge, 2022).
* Huttenback, Robert A. "The French Threat to India and British Relations with Sind, 1799-1809." ''English Historical Review'' 76.301 (1961): 590-599. .
* Jørgensen, Helle. "Between marginality and universality: present tensions and paradoxes in French colonial cultural heritage, civilizing mission, and citizenship in Puducherry, India." ''Heritage & Society'' 10.1 (2017): 45-67.
* Kennedy, B. E. "Anglo-French Rivalry in Southeast Asia 1763–93: Some Repercussions." ''Journal of Southeast Asian Studies'' 4.2 (1973): 199-215.
* Krishnamurthy, B. “SOME ASPECTS OF THE FRENCH TRADE WITH INDIA (1664-1771).” ''Proceedings of the Indian History Congress'', vol. 40, (1979), pp. 962–72, .
* McLynn, Frank. ''1759: the year Britain became master of the world'' (Random House, 2011).
* Malleson, G. B. ''History Of The French In India'' (1909
online
* Manning, Catherine. ''Fortunes à faire: the French in Asian trade, 1719–48'' (Routledge, 2017).
* Margerison, Kenneth. “Commercial Liberty, French National Power, and the Indies Trade After the Seven Years’ War.” ''Historical Reflections / Réflexions Historique'' 35#3 (2009), pp. 52–73, .
* Margerison, Kenneth. "French Visions of Empire: Contesting British Power in India after the Seven Years War." ''English Historical Review'' 130#544, (2015), pp. 583–612, .
* Margerison, Kenneth. "Rogue diplomacy: Sartine, Saint-Lubin and the French attempt to recover ‘Lost India’, 1776–80." ''French History'' 30.4 (2016): 477-504.
* Marsh, Kate. ''India in the French Imagination: Peripheral Voices, 1754-1815'' (2009
excerpt
als
online review
* Mielly, Michelle, et al. "A passage to France: skilled Indian SIEs in transition." in ''Critical perspectives on international business'' (2017); migration in 21st century
online
* Miles, William F. S. "Citizens without soil: the French of India (Pondicherry)." ''Ethnic and racial studies'' 13.2 (1990): 250-273.
* Miles, William F. S. "Defective decolonization: The Pondichery legacy." ''Proceedings of the Meeting of the French Colonial Historical Society'' Vol. 16. (1992) .
* Mole, Gregory. "Incriminating empire: Treason, patriotism, and the fall of French India." ''French Historical Studies'' 44.1 (2021): 27-57.
* Mole, Gregory T. "Mahé and the Politics of Empire: Trade, Conquest, and Revolution on the Malabar Coast." in ''La Révolution française. Cahiers de l’Institut d’histoire de la Révolution française'' 8 (2015
online
* Namakkal, Jessica. ''Unsettling Utopia: The Making and Unmaking of French India'' (Columbia UP, 2021).
* Raina, Dhruv. "The French Jesuit Manuscripts on Indian Astronomy: The Narratology and Mystery Surrounding a Late Seventeenth–Early Eighteenth Century Project." in ''Looking at it from Asia: the Processes that Shaped the Sources of History of Science'' (Springer, Dordrecht, 2010) pp. 115-140.
* Rapson, E. J. ''The struggle between England and France for supremacy in India'' (1887
online
* Ray, Aniruddha. "Establishment of the French Factory at Patna." ''Proceedings of the Indian History Congress''. Vol. 61. 2000. .
* Ray, Indrani. “INDIA IN ASIAN TRADE IN THE 1730s—AN 18TH CENTURY FRENCH MEMOIR.” ''Proceedings of the Indian History Congress,'' vol. 34, (1973), pp. 271–90, .
* Rothrock, George A. “Seventeenth-Century India through French Eyes.” ''Historian'' 22#2 (1960), pp. 163–84, .
* Ruggiu, François-Joseph. "India and the reshaping of the French colonial policy (1759-1789)." ''Itinerario'' 35.2 (2011): 25-43.
* Sen, S.P. ''The French in India, 1763-1816'' (1971)
*
* Smith, Blake. "Starch wars: Rice, bread and South Asian difference in the French Enlightenment." ''French Cultural Studies'' 26.2 (2015): 130-139.
* Sridharan, M. P. "Tipu's Letters to French Officials." ''Proceedings of the Indian History Congress'' Vol. 45. (1984)
* Wallerstein, Immanuel. "Incorporation of Indian subcontinent into capitalist world-economy." ''Economic and Political Weekly'' (1986): PE28-PE39. .
Historiography
* Bissoondoyal, B. "India as Seen by French Travellers." ''Indo-Asian Culture'' (1962) 19#4 pp 434-443.
* Cameron, Roderick. "The Abbe Dubois" ''History Today'' (1958) 8#3 pp 164-169. About the priest in India 1792 to 1832 whose book ''Hindu Manners, Customs and Ceremonies'' was influential in Europe.
* Filliozat, Jean. ''France and indology'' (Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture, 1955).
* Filliozat, Jean. "France and indology" '' Indo-Asian Culture'' (1956) 5#3 pp 296-313.
* Marsh, Kate. ''Narratives of the French Empire: Fiction, nostalgia, and imperial rivalries, 1784 to the present'' (Lexington Books, 2013).
* Mohan, Jyoti. ''Claiming India: French Scholars and the Preoccupation with India in the Nineteenth Century'' (SAGE Publishing India, 2017
online dissertation version
In French
* David-Néel, Alexandra (2002). ''L' Inde où j'ai vécu: Avant et après l'indépendance''. Paris: Plon.
*Elfi, Nicole (2008). ''Aux sources de l'Inde: L'initiation à la connaissance.'' Paris: Les Belles Lettres.
*Gautier, François (2005). ''La caravane intérieure: Récit. Paris: Les Belles lettres.''
*Gautier, François (2008) ''Les Français en Inde – Pondichéry, Chandernagor, Mahé, Yanaon, Karikal. France Loisirs.''
{{DEFAULTSORT:France-India Relations
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