The French Consolidation

As befits a 'true friend', French president Emmanuel Macron has come to India's rescue after the US indicated that President Joe Biden would not be able to attend India's 75th Republic Day celebrations in 2024 as chief guest.

- Pradip R. Sagar

PM Narendra Modi had invited Biden for the event on the sidelines of the G20 summit in September last year. "Thank you for your invitation, my dear friend @ Narendra Modi. India, on your Republic Day, I'll be here to celebrate with you!" Macron wrote on X. In a prompt response, PM Modi wrote, "My Dear Friend President @EmmanuelMacron, we eagerly look forward to receiving you as the Chief Guest at the 75th Republic Day. We will also celebrate India-France's strategic partnership and shared belief in democratic values. Bientôt !"

Macron's presence will mark the sixth time that a French leader has been chief guest on Republic Daythe most from any country. In July, PM Modi was guest of honour at the Bastille Day parade in Paris. Macron had bestowed the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour-France's highest civilian/military honour-on Modi.

All this demonstrative warmth in ties serves as a marker of a rather significant shift-Paris is on its way to replacing Russia as the biggest source of military hardware for New Delhi. Currently, France is India's second-largest weapons supplier, with a 29 per cent share after Russia (45 per cent) and surpassing the US (11 per cent), according to a March 2023 report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. Like Russia, France is supplying fighter jets to submarines to the Indian military, apart from other sub-systems.