Ceremony and substance: On the Macron visit, India-France ties

India and France built on past agreements in a show of symbolism 

Given the circumstances (a fact or event that makes a situation the way it is) behind the invitation (the act of inviting someone to go to an event) to the French President Emmanuel Macron, his visit to India last week was always going to be more about symbolism (the use of symbols in art, literature, films, etc. to represent ideas) and ceremony than about substance. Mr. Macron, the sixth French President to grace the Republic Day celebrations, stepped into the breach (an act of breaking a law, promise, agreement, or relationship) when U.S. President Joseph Biden declined the invitation. In addition, India and France had in 2023 already sealed a number of agreements (the situation in which people have the same opinion, or in which they approve of or accept something) as they marked 25 years of their strategic partnership (an agreement between organizations, people, etc. to work together) — a year that saw Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Mr. Macron meet several times. Not only had the two countries already announced a fairly ambitious (having a strong wish to be successful, powerful, or rich) “Horizon 2047” relationship road map but they had also stated plans for joint production of military hardware, cutting-edge technology transfers and new purchase deals for French aircraft, engines and submarines. Diplomats (an official whose job is to represent one country in another, and who usually works in an embassy)  had their work cut out for them with the two sides having to prepare for the Republic Day visit with little time to spare, and with so many agreements already announced. Many even speculated (to form opinions about something without having the necessary information or facts; to make guesses) whether India had “missed an opportunity” to extend invitations to other partners including from the South Asian neighbourhood or Global South, rather than getting a much-invited France.

As a result, it is understandable (to know the meaning of something that someone says) that many of the agreements announced after the Modi-Macron meeting in Jaipur, and their time together watching the Republic Day Parade, were essentially built on the road map. These included the “Defence industrial” road map, meant to expand on plans for the two countries to co-design, co-develop and co-produce defence hardware in the air, on land and sea, as well as a space-defence partnership. In addition, the two sides signed MoU documents on agriculture, digital health and science and technology cooperation. An assembly-line manufacture of civilian helicopters (Airbus-Tata) was a first, but a private B2B deal. The two sides also issued a joint statement on regional and international developments. India has been unable to find such common ground with other partners including the U.S. and Russia on these issues but was able to take shared positions with France on the condemnation (to criticize something or someone strongly, usually for moral reasons) of terror attacks in Israel, the need for humanitarian (involved in or connected with improving people’s lives and reducing suffering) assistance in Gaza and Ukraine, and concerns over the Red Sea attacks. While they did not demonstrate (to show something and explain how it works) progress in other areas of cooperation, including big ticket defence hardware deals being negotiated (happening or existing as a result of formal discussions), nuclear cooperation for the long-delayed power project in Jaitapur and for small modular reactors, it is clear that each is a work in progress, demonstrating the continuity in a partnership built on a mutual respect for strategic autonomy (the right of a group of people to govern itself or to organize its own activities), which Mr. Macron said at the presidential banquet was also driven by their shared commitment to “tradition and innovation”.

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