France was the only major Western power to back India after its 1998 nuclear tests. That support built a partnership that still shapes fighter jets, nuclear plants, and the open seas today.
Must Know
- India and France launched a Strategic Partnership on 26 January 1998. It was India’s first with a Western nation, and France’s first with a non-Western nation.
- France was the only major Western power to support India after the 1998 Pokhran-II nuclear tests, when most Western nations imposed sanctions.
- During President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to India, on 17-19 February 2026, the two countries elevated ties to a Special Global Strategic Partnership.
- The relationship rests on four pillars: defence, civil nuclear energy, trade, and cooperation in the Indo-Pacific.
- France is also a G7 member. For the G7 itself, see Economy0022 — G7, G20, and OECD.
Good to Know
- India bought 36 Rafale fighter jets for the Air Force in a 2016 deal. Deliveries finished in December 2022.
- On 28 April 2025, India signed a separate deal for 26 Rafale Marine jets, the naval variant, worth about $7.5 billion. This made India the Rafale Marine’s first export customer.
- The two militaries hold regular joint exercises: Shakti (army), Varuna (navy), and Garuda (air force).
- A 2008 civil nuclear agreement underpins the planned Jaitapur Nuclear Power Project, in Maharashtra. French firm EDF would build six EPR reactors there.
- India-France bilateral trade reached about $15.81 billion in 2025-26. France is India’s 11th-largest source of foreign investment since 2000.
- France runs a naval base on La Réunion island, in the Indian Ocean. Since a 2018 logistics agreement, Indian naval aircraft can use it, supporting joint patrols.
Current Affairs
- On 3 July 2026, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and French Minister Roland Lescure co-chaired the India-France Economic and Financial Dialogue (EFD) in Aix-en-Provence, a follow-through on President Macron’s February 2026 India visit.
- Topics covered included G20 and Paris Club alignment, critical-minerals cooperation, high-speed rail cooperation, cross-investment opportunities, and SME cluster linkages. Both ministers welcomed the French Development Agency’s continued work in India.
- The two sides agreed the EFD remains the main platform for economic, financial, technological, investment, and trade matters, with the next edition tentatively planned for 2027.
- PM Narendra Modi visited France as part of a six-day Europe tour, from 13 to 18 June 2026.
- In Nice, Modi and Macron jointly launched “Bharat Innovates,” an initiative on the tour’s opening leg.
- Modi then travelled to Évian-les-Bains, for the 52nd G7 Summit, held 15-17 June 2026 under France’s presidency. He attended as a special invitee, marking India’s 13th overall, and 7th consecutive, G7 appearance.
- The tour’s final leg took Modi to Paris, for VivaTech 2026, Europe’s largest technology event.
- This built on an already-elevated relationship: Macron had visited India in February 2026, when the two countries agreed to their Special Global Strategic Partnership.
Test Yourself
Great to Know
- Once complete, Jaitapur would be the world’s largest nuclear power plant by capacity, at 9.6 GW. It could power roughly 70 million Indian households a year.
- India is now the first country to operate both variants of the Rafale: the land-based jet for the Air Force, and the Rafale Marine for the Navy.
- France leads the “Maritime Resources” pillar of India’s own Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI) — a sign of how deeply the two countries’ regional strategies now overlap.
- France’s backing after Pokhran-II is often read as the seed of the entire modern relationship: a Western power willing to break ranks, at a moment India had few options, tends to be remembered for decades afterward.
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