The French connection

Paris is seen as a reliable strategic partner

French President Emmanuel Macron’s decision to accept India’s invitation to the Republic Day parade after US President Joe Biden declined, underlines the durability of Indo-French relations in contrast to the variability of Indo-US ties. Mr Macron’s attendance at the January 26 parade will mark the sixth time a French President has been chief guest at this event. The first French leader to do so was Jacques Chirac, who attended twice, in 1976 (as Prime Minister) and 1998 (as President). Mr Macron will be the second French President to attend the parade under the Narendra Modi regime, Francois Hollande being the first in 2016. So far, just one US President has attended the celebrations — Barack Obama in 2015 at the invitation of Prime Minister Modi — that took place 10 years after the Indo-US nuclear agreement, which had signalled a significant pivot in relations between the two countries.
 

France has stepped into the breach caused by the US President’s refusal —though India’s invitation was confirmed by the US ambassador to India, not the Indian foreign ministry — and the subsequent cancellation of the Quad meeting scheduled immediately afterwards. The conventional view of Mr Macron’s gesture is that it is linked to the large Indian orders for the Rafale fighter jets manufactured by aerospace major Dassault. This deal should be seen, however, as a critical element of a larger picture. Both France and the US view India as an Asian lynchpin to China’s rise, so that defence and strategic geopolitical alignments centred on the Indo-Pacific dominate relations with New Delhi. But Paris has been the relatively steadfast partner after it upgraded its partnership to a strategic level in 1998.
 

To be sure, Messrs Modi and Biden have had several significant interactions over 2022 and 2023. These include, among other things, a state visit in June and an address to both Houses of Congress, two Quad summits, and Mr Biden’s visit to New Delhi to attend the G20 Summit in September. Closer alliances have yielded landmark defence deals for drones, armoured vehicles, and aerospace collaborations. Remarkably, the relationship survived India’s decision to buy oil from Russia after the Ukraine war broke out. Relations have frayed lately on account of alleged Indian involvement in the assassination of a Canadian citizen and Sikh separatist, which India has denied, and an attempt against a US Sikh citizen. Washington’s recent outreach to China, with a summit between Mr Biden and Xi Jinping in November, has also suggested a realignment of geopolitical priorities.

France by contrast has played a balancing act. In April, Mr Macron paid a three-day visit to Beijing to signal that the European Union should frame policies on China independent of the US. But in mid-July, Mr Modi was France’s guest of honour at the Bastille Day celebrations, at which an Indian military contingent marched for the first time. As with the US, the heart of the French relationship lies in defence and security architectures. Apart from an order of 26 Rafale fighters for aircraft carriers, a joint statement on the 25th anniversary of the Indo-France strategic partnership focused on “ground-breaking” defence cooperation — trilateral cooperation with “willing partners” in the Indo-Pacific and space collaboration. Mr Macron’s attendance at the Republic Day parade, therefore, allows both New Delhi and Paris to underline their friendship and independence stance on global power politics.