Emmanuel Macron met with his “dear friend” Narendra Modi, the Indian prime minister, on Tuesday, February 17, in Mumbai. For the French president’s fourth visit to the world’s most populous country, the Hindu nationalist leader had thousands of posters put up throughout the streets of India’s economic capital, showing him alongside “His Excellency Emmanuel Macron.” However, it was worth noting that just a month earlier, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz received the same welcome in Modi’s home state of Gujarat, underscoring the closeness of Indian-German relations.

This did not stop the two leaders from speaking with one voice. “The India-France partnership knows no boundaries; it can reach from deep oceans to the tallest mountains,” declared a lyrical Modi. “The French-Indian relationship is experiencing remarkable acceleration, in response to the changing international order,” emphasized Macron, with both leaders in turn praising this “special global strategic partnership.”

The decision to purchase 114 additional French Rafale fighter jets for its air force, announced by the Indian government a few days before Macron’s arrival, represents the most concrete aspect of the French-Indian partnership at this stage. This €33 billion contract, a massive deal for India, has yet to be signed, as New Delhi has demanded that most Rafale aircraft be manufactured locally under the “Make in India” initiative. While the sensitive question of technology transfer remained unresolved, Macron’s aides expressed “confidence.”

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