French President Emmanuel Macron will be the chief guest at the Republic Day parade next month, the government said on Friday. The government invited Macron after US President Joe Biden declined India’s invite for the prestigious event.
PM Narendra Modi was the chief guest at the Bastille Day celebrations in Paris in July this year. Francois Hollande in 2016 was the last French president to participate in India’s Republic Day celebrations.This will be the 6th time that a French leader will grace the occasion.
France is India’s most important strategic partner in Europe, and also an indispensable partner in the Indian Ocean where it’s a resident power. In recent times, India’s ties with France have grown exponentially in areas like defence, security, space and energy. It has also backed India’s efforts to have an independent defence industry by allowing transfer of advanced technology. The government said in a statement that at the invitation of Modi, Macron will be visiting India as the chief guest for the 75th Republic Day celebrations. As strategic partners, India and France share a high degree of convergence on a range of regional and global issues, the government said in a statement. it added. India and France are currently celebrating the 25th anniversary of the India-France Strategic Partnership.
“Prime Minister was the Guest of Honour at the Bastille Day Parade held on 14 July 2023 in Paris. President Macron visited India for the G-20 Summit on September 8-9, 2023,’’ said the government in its announcement.

In July, before Modi’s visit to Paris, the defence ministry had approved purchase of 26 Rafale (Marine) jets from France, primarily for deployment on board the indigenously built aircraft carrier INS Vikrant. France responded this week to India’s initial tender for buying the jets by submitting its bid. Before Modi’s visit to Paris, the defence ministry had also granted preliminary approval to the proposal for purchase of 3 Scorpene submarines for France.