Bonjour, France! All eyes are on Prime Minister Narendra Modi as he makes his way to France for a three-day visit, until February 12. From there, the PM will make his way to the United States where he will meet President Donald Trump for the first time during his second term in the White House.
In France, Modi has a packed schedule: he will first co-chair the AI Action Summit along with French President Emmanuel Macron. The PM is also expected to conduct a bilateral meet with Macron to “review the progress on 2047 Horizon Roadmap for India-France strategic partnership”.
Modi and Macron are also expected to visit the historic French city of Marseille to inaugurate the first Indian Consulate in France.
This will mark PM Modi’s first bilateral visit to France in his third term. But what can we expect from the visit?
PM Modi’s visit to France began with a dinner on February 10 at the Elysee Palace in Paris at the invitation of Macron. At the event, PM Modi was welcomed by his “friend” Macron with a hug. At the dinner, the prime minister also met US Vice President JD Vance, who is also in France to attend the AI Summit.
Today (February 11), PM Modi will co-chair the
AI Summit in the French capital’s opulent Grand Palais. The gathering, which is also being chaired by French President Emmanuel Macron, aims include “mapping” AI governance around the world, promoting the idea of more ethical, accessible and frugal AI and pushing for European sovereignty over the technology.
This will be the third edition of the AI Action Summit — the first was held in the United Kingdom in 2023, and a smaller gathering in Seoul, South Korea, last year.
On his vision for the AI Summit, President Macron speaking to Firstpost’s Managing Editor Palki Sharma said that
his and PM Modi’s main agenda would be to push for
tech sovereignty on a global stage. “I think with Prime Minister Modi we firmly believe that India and France are two great powers and we have a special relationship in respect to this. We respect and want to work with the United States, and we want to work with China but don’t want to depend on no one,” the French leader said.
“Together we will develop technological sovereignty, we want to train our talent so that they can go abroad but they should also be at home and we can create data centres in India and France with sustainable energy and we want our own language model in France and India. We don’t want to depend on the US and the Chinese models and we want applications in all fields,” Macron furthered.
He further said that it was these two countries — India and France — which would carve a third way forward in the tech race which has majorly been all about the United States and China.
The AI Summit will be attended by several tech titans, heads of state, CEOs and scientists from over 100 countries. Among those in attendance will be US Vice President JD Vance, on his first overseas trip since taking office, and Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Guoqing.
It will be interesting to see how the summit co-chaired by Modi and Macron will deal with the issue of
DeepSeek, the Chinese AI company that has rattled the AI bubble with a foundational model that is cheaper and more energy efficient.
Apart from the AI Summit, PM Modi is also looking to strenghthen India-France ties through nuclear and defence deals.
There are huge expectations that PM Modi will finalise the deal for 26
Rafale-M fighter jets for the Indian Navy. A report by The Print said that the deal is said to be worth €7 billion. However, it is not yet clear if f the procurement will be announced during PM Modi’s visit. However, once signed and delivered, these 26 Rafale-M will operate from India’s aircraft carrier fleet — INS Vikrant and INS Vikramaditya.
These advanced fighter jets will be equipped with cutting-edge weaponry, including the Meteor beyond-visual-range air-to-air missiles, enhancing their effectiveness in maritime operations. The jets will also feature specialised anti-ship weaponry, designed to strengthen India’s deterrence and strike capabilities across the Indian Ocean.
Apart from the deal for the Rafale-M jets, there is also a possibility that India will acquire three more Scorpene-class submarines, which will bolster India’s underwater deterrence capabilities.
On the nuclear energy side too, India and France are expected to sign some deals. On February 12, PM Modi and Macron will visit Cadarache, a site known for housing the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) — a major collaborative scientific project aimed at creating clean nuclear fusion energy, in which India is a key partner.
Geopolitical watchers expect that India and France will likely make announcements on small modular reactors, boosting civil nuclear cooperation. In fact, India in its Budget announced that it was amending its Civil Liability for Nuclear Damages Act and the Atomic Energy Act. This move, as per The Hindu, would enthuse American and French nuclear power companies, whose projects have been deadlocked due to legal worries for more than 15 years.
As part of his France visit, PM Modi will also visit the Mazargues War Cemetery in Marseille, where they will pay tribute to Indian soldiers who fought and died during World War I. Following this, the two leaders will also jointly inaugurate the Consulate General of India in Marseille.
India’s intent to open a consulate in Marseille was announced during Modi’s previous visit to France in 2023.
Apart from all this, PM Modi and Macron will also attend the India-France CEO forum to connect business ties.
An India-France Triangular Development Cooperation initiative is also likely to be launched. The two countries will declare that 2026 will be celebrated as India-France Innovation year, and launch a logo.
Insiders have said that the two leaders will also hold talks on the
India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC). This project was first announced on the sidelines of the G20 Leaders’ Summit in New Delhi in 2023.
The Print citing sources said, “Mumbai and Marseille will be the two ends of the corridor (IMEC). Talks on the corridor will be high on the agenda”. The project envisions a route connecting India’s West coast to Europe via West Asia.
An initiative on India-France Triangular Development Cooperation is also likely to be launched during the visit, through which India and France will aim to implement climate- and SDGs-focused projects in third countries in the Indo-Pacific region.
Modi’s France itinerary
>> Modi will land in France on February evening and attend a VIP dinner hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron
>> On February 11, PM Modi will co-chair the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Action Summit with Macron
>> The PM will then attend a CEOs roundtable with the French president
>> Modi will then travel to Marseille where he will have a bilateral meeting with Macron, followed by private dinner
With inputs from agencies
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AI Summit, nuclear and defence deals: What India can expect from PM Modi’s France visit
