India, France and what keeps their ties ticking

Source: The post is based on the article “India, France and what keeps their ties ticking” published in The Hindu on 19^th July 2023.

Syllabus: GS 2 – Bilateral, Regional and Global Groupings and Agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests

Relevance: India and France relations

News: The article explains the India and France bilateral relations.

How has India and France’s relationship evolved over the years?

India and France have built a tradition of joining each other’s national day parades.

French Presidents have been invited to be the chief guests at the Republic Day Parade in Delhi while the Indian PMs have been invited to France’s Bastille Day parade.

French President Jacques Chirac was the first French chief guest to be invited at the Republic Day Parade in Delhi. India’s first ever Strategic Partnership agreement between India and France was signed between PM I.K. Gujral and the President Chirac.

Further, both countries have held on to three pillars in the relationship: 1) non-interference in each other’s internal affairs, 2) belief in strategic autonomy and non-alignment, and 3) a refusal to pull the other into its own coalitions and alliances.

India was also one of a few invitees to the preparatory committee of “Paris Conference on International Economic Cooperation”, hosted by France.

Moreover, although French officials joined the P-5 nations in criticizing the Pokhran-II nuclear test in 1998, France did not join the US-led effort to impose sanctions on India.

However, when India won its waiver at the Nuclear Suppliers Group in 2008, it was France that India signed its first civil nuclear deal with.

How has been the relationship between the Indian and France in recent years?

The relationship between the two nations has been build up so strong that despite the violent protest over the mistreatment of immigrant communities, PM Modi did not hesitate even once in planning his visit.

Even France did not bring up the European Parliament’s criticism of India over the violence in Manipur.

Further, in March 2022, France collaborated with Mexico to co-author a UN Security Council resolution aiming to ensure unrestricted humanitarian aid in the conflict zone of Ukraine.

When the resolution reached the UN General Assembly, India abstained from voting. However, France did not express any disappointment regarding India’s abstention. 

Similarly, India also did not have differences with France over Macron’s visit to China in April this year. France has also shown interest in traveling to South Africa for the BRICS summit in August.

Must Read: India-France relations: significance and challenges

What has been the stand of France and India over different strategic coalition groups?

France has publicly expressed its disapproval of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)-plus partnership plans. India has also rejected the plans.

India-France Roadmap on the Indo-Pacific released last week further clarifies that neither side is attempting to pull the other into its other regional military coalitions.

France has also shown little enthusiasm for the “Quad-Plus” coalitions proposed in 2020, which lost momentum following the U.S.-France disagreement over the AUKUS agreement.

What lies ahead?

The relationship between the two countries has grown significantly. France is the only country with which the Indian Navy has conducted joint patrols so far.

There are also plans of conduction joint military exercises to boost the relationship of both the nations.