Bastille Day fireworks: when Macron met Modi

France celebrated Bastille Day today with its usual spectacular show of military might as thousands of soldiers marched through the Champs-Elysees while warplanes flew overhead filling the skies with red, blue and white smoke marking the tricolour.

More than 6,500 French soldiers – including troops from the Foreign Legion – paraded through the Parisian streets alongside 219 ground vehicles, 200 horses and 86 dogs taking part in the annual ceremony commemorating the French revolution.

Yet there was an unusual twist to this year’s grandiose affair:  240 Indian troops led the march as India’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, joined President Macron as guest of honour to mark 25 years of partnership between the two countries.  

Modi’s two-day visit to Paris is part of the French president’s latest seduction campaign to work more closely with New Delhi on a range of topics ranging from military sales to the security of the seas in the Indo-Pacific region. 

To illustrate the strength of those relations, three French-made Indian Rafale jets joined the flypast with another 94 planes and helicopters: a fitting thank you gift for the latest sales of military equipment. Macron also gave Modi the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour, the country’s highest civil and military award.

As the Indian PM arrived at the Elysee Palace on Thursday, his Defence Acquisition Council gave the green-light to the purchase of 26 more Rafales for the Indian Navy and three Scorpene submarines.

Ahead of dinner at the Elysee, Macron was in full Jupiter mode, hailing India as a strategic partner and close friend, adding: “It is a giant in the history of the world that will have a determining role in our future.” Macron will be making his own trip to the region later this month. 

Although the Paris parade has so far gone without a hitch, more than 100,000 police officers and security forces are on red alert this weekend because of fears that the national holiday celebrations might be hijacked by rioters after the turmoil provoked by the shooting of the young French-Algerian by a traffic cop. By recent standards, Thursday was actually a quiet night: police arrested only 97 people but confiscated more than 2,000 fireworks, which were temporarily banned after the unrest. 

While Paris is holding its traditional fireworks display tonight, several local councils have cancelled theirs. They are concerned about further rioting and pressure is mounting on Macron’s government from left and right to find ways of easing tensions with those living in the banlieues.

The French president has also come under fire from critics arguing that France should not be giving Modi such a high-profile platform because of his human rights record. At home, Modi’s Hindu nationalist party is seen as divisive, and increasingly authoritarian. Leading French commentators wrote to Le Monde, expressing their concerns, asking Macron to “encourage Prime Minister Modi to end repression of the civil society, assure freedom of major media (outlets) and protect religious liberty.” 

The pleas were ignored. At a joint press conference this afternoon, des nouveaux meilleurs amis agreed further areas of cooperation in space, steel, energy, civil nuclear and technology but no mention of human rights. India is to open a new consulate in Marseille while France is to grant more long-term visas to Indian students. 

President Macron also referred to the long history of Indian troops taking part in World Wars, saying: “I was proud to see the Punjab Regiment here in the heart of Paris.” In return, Modi praised France for being a natural partner in India’s developmental journey, and critical to its roadmap for the next 25 years. 

Such grand displays of French military prowess – and India’s great purchasing power – are of course a boost for the egos of Macron and Modi and their image overseas. Yet both leaders should perhaps look more carefully at their home turf if they too want to be celebrated with fireworks in years to come. 

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