victory of Narendra Modi in India, France’s strategic partner country

In India, after six weeks of voting, the legislative elections resulted in the reappointment of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It is an election that France is closely following, as India is a strategic economic partner.

In India, the legislative elections called some 642 million voters to the polls. After three days of counting, the country’s national electoral commission announced on Tuesday June 4 the expected victory of the party of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. France is carefully observing this result, because India displays insolent economic dynamism.

According to the latest figures released on Friday, its growth reached 8%. India is today the 5th largest economy in the world and the largest democracy in the world, with nearly 1.5 billion inhabitants. The country even aims to position itself, by 2030, in 3rd place among the world’s economies, behind the United States and China.

It is therefore no coincidence that Emmanuel Macron has increased his trips to India and invited Narendra Modi in 2023, for the July 14 parade. The two leaders set the course for a bilateral relationship in all areas until 2047! India is obviously a partner that we take care of, especially at the moment, because it is a country which displays an international policy of non-alignment, whether with the United States, Russia or the China.

In addition, there are numerous links with French companies, in many fields, such as, for example, aeronautics. India is a big market for Airbus, which has formed an alliance there with the Indian group Tata to produce helicopters. The automobile sector also benefits from the Indian market, where Renault and Citroën are present. Space is also well connected, without forgetting India’s immense needs for carbon-free energy and infrastructure, which are all potential markets for Suez or Alstom.

Cooperation in civil nuclear power is one of the areas that France seeks to develop, but it is especially in defense that cooperation is undoubtedly the oldest and strongest. This cooperation has existed for 25 years. France is one of the leading suppliers of arms to India, which, for example, sources its Rafale planes from Dassault Aviation.

India poses as a competitor to China and this is also what interests France. India is in close, permanent, almost obsessive rivalry with China. She dreams of replacing it as the world’s factory. But India currently produces three times less wealth than China. Infrastructure is underdeveloped, despite the quality of Indian engineers. In a country where inequalities between rich and poor reach a historic level, 40% of the population still works in agriculture, a third of young people are illiterate, and unemployment is high. India represents barely 2% of world trade, not to mention that the country is tightening up in terms of freedoms, excluding journalists, advocating the domination of Hindus by distancing the country from its secular tradition… For France, it is a strategic partner but a partner with significant limitations.