Round The World

New Delhi, 14 February 2025

Modi in France

En route to USA

By Dr. D.K. Giri

(Prof. NIIS Group of Institutions, Odisha) 

The controversy on the participation of Prime Minister Modi in the swearing-in of Donald Trump figured prominently in the Indian media and the political community. Critiques construed it as a snub by the US President while US spokespersons mainly the former ambassador to New Delhi Eric Garcetti treated it as a trivial matter in line with the convention set by the White House. Heads of Governments and States were usually not invited to the oath-taking of US Presidents. Although the convention was set aside as few Heads including that of China were invited. It is another thing that Chinese President declined it. Garcetti did say that Prime Minister Modi should meet Donald Trump one-to-one instead of being a part of the crowd and he was sure that Modi was soon to be invited, sometime in February. The invitation came and Modi is, at the time of writing, in USA.

The question that is being addressed, in addition to taking account of Modi’s visit to France, is why Modi had to go to USA via Paris. It can again be interpreted in two ways. One, his schedule in Paris was prefixed and the invitation from USA almost aligned with the dates with his visit to France. Modi was in France from 10 to12 February and on the 13^th he landed in USA. The timings for both visits could at best be fortuitous because Donald Trump’s office could not align their invitation with Modi’s visit to Paris. Second, Modi himself would have asked for these dates as he was scheduled to attend the international conference on AI in Paris.

The interpretation of Modi’s visit via Paris is in order as it has implicit political implications. In global geo-politics, structurally, France and USA may be on the same side, but in their strategic thinking, there is a clear divergence. France has been historically seeking to create an alternative centre of power to the Anglo-American axis. Britain, on the other hand, has been solidly in American camp since the Second World War. Apart from the colonial rivalry between France and Britain, they were diametrically opposite to each other in their positioning in geo-political order, especially vis-à-vis America which emerged as the super power.

Currently, France expects a multi-polar world where it can play its traditional world role. Likewise, India has moved on from Non-Alignment to strategic autonomy, a euphemism for multi-alignment which is possible in a multi-polar world. That is where France and India converge resulting in deepening of their bilateral relations. Whether this strategy will succeed is a matter of debate. The historical evidence testifies that world has always been divided into two blocs. In the Second World War, it was between the Allied powers and the Axis between Germany, Italy and Japan. The equations have dramatically changed since. The two new blocs then were led by two super powers – USA and USSR. With the disintegration of the latter, China has somewhat replaced USSR. Again, in the wake of the Ukrainian war, the two undeclared blocs are NATO and the Russia-China-North Korea axis which could be replaced by BRICS or SCO.

Arguably, a multi-polar world envisaged by France, Germany and India and a few other countries may be an aspiration, not a reality. Therefore, it is in India’s interest to deepen bilateral relations with friendly countries like France but not make it a part of its foreign policy strategy. Some of us have consistently argued that non-alignment or strategic autonomy is a non-starter.

That said, let us count the take-aways from Modi’s visit to France. The primary purpose was to co-chair the third AI Action Summit in Paris. The first one was held in Bletchley Park, Milton Keynes, England in November 2023 and second in Seoul in May 2024. The next summit will take place in 2026 in India. That is the first welcome outcome of his visit. These summits and collaborations have become important following the tech disruption by China’s DeepSeek. Notably, India also is building its own AI model.

Prime Minister Modi was also a distinguished guest among the world leaders in the dinner hosted by President Macron at Palais de l'Élysée (Elysee Palace). Other prominent leaders included US Vice- President J.D. Vance and the Chinese Vice-PM. Such exclusive dinners indicate the proximity and prominence of world leaders attending.

Both leaders inaugurated a new Indian Consulate in Marseille City. This denotes an expansion of India’s diplomatic presence in France. As usual, Prime Minister Modi met the Indian Diaspora, addressed the CEOs – Indians (based in France) and French. He encouraged the French CEOs to take advantage of the enormous investment opportunities emerging in India. This has been a consistent attempt by Modi wherever he visits to attract investors to Indian market. Sadly though, his warmth and charisma are not matched by the facilitation for foreign investors on the ground back home.

Another significant take-away is the increasing collaboration between France and India on the nuclear sector. When US facilitated India’s entry into NSG, France was the first country to sign an agreement with India on nuclear exchange. France strongly believes that nuclear power is an alternative to fossil fuel and for low-carbon economy. Almost 70% of electricity in France is generated by the nuclear power. India could seriously consider harnessing nuclear energy for electricity which is in deficit in most parts of the country. Both countries signed a Letter of Intent on Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) and Advanced Modular Reactors (AMRs). These should accelerate the process of converting nuclear energy into electricity. Upgradation of Jaitapur nuclear plant also figured in bilateral discussion.

Indo-France Year of Innovation will be celebrated in New Delhi in March 2026 by launching their respective logos. This is an important milestone in creating new technologies to counter the domination by countries like China. Remember, technology will be a major determinant in international relations. Security experts are in fact predicting that if there is a third world war, it will be fought by technology mainly AI and other emerging types – DeepSeek and so on.

This visit was Modi’s sixth to France. French President Emmanuel Macron was the Chief Guest in Republic Day Parade last year. Obviously, India-France relations are close and growing. This is an uplifting development, especially when European Union seems atrophied in international relations. The only rider to this bilateralism is the need of a clear strategic security perspective, not based on past experiences and present prejudices. ---INFA

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