At 4.18 am (India time) on Wednesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi posted on X: “President Macron and I reached Marseille a short while ago.” PM Modi’s post was a reflection of the bonhomie the two leaders have shared over the years and on his latest France tour.
Marseille occupies a special significance in the politics of PM Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as it was the place where Hindutva icon and freedom fighter VD Savarkar tried to escape from the colonial British captivity. His arrest by the then French authorities and handing over to the British had triggered a legal debate over asylum and extradition. Modi mentioned about Savarkar in one of his posts.
His early morning post also displayed a unique aspect of PM Modi’s visit to France for the time and respect given by President Macron to him.
On February 10, the first day of PM Modi’s France tour, President Macron spent time with the Indian prime minister hosting a dinner for him. The camaraderie continued the next day at the AI Action Summit, where they co-hosted the event.
Later in the day, Modi and Macron hosted the India-France CEOs Forum together, sharing their common vision for economic collaboration.
What came out as an extraordinary gesture of friendship, Modi and Macron traveled together in a joint motorcade and in the same plane to Marseille. President Macron hosted PM Modi for a working dinner in Marseille immediately on landing.
On their Wednesday schedule were the inauguration of an Indian Consulate in Marseille and a tour of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) project, an international nuclear fusion collaboration, as well as of the Marseille port together. Such proximity and time being given by a leader like Macron for any world leader is rare and rarely has any precedent.
On reaching Marseille, PM Modi paid homage to the memory of Savarkar, who attempted a “courageous escape” at the port city.
One of PM Modi’s posts on X said, “Landed in Marseille. In India’s quest for freedom, this city holds special significance. It was here that the great Veer Savarkar attempted a courageous escape.”
He said, “I also want to thank the people of Marseille and the French activists of that time who demanded that he not be handed over to British custody. The bravery of Veer Savarkar continues to inspire generations!”
The Indian prime minister received a warm welcome from the Indian diaspora upon his arrival in Marseille.
In an early Wednesday morning post, PM Modi said, “President Macron and I reached Marseille a short while ago. This visit will witness important programmes aimed at further connecting India and France. The Indian consulate which is being inaugurated will deepen people-to-people linkages. I will also pay homage to the Indian soldiers martyred in [the] First and Second World Wars.”
During British colonial rule, freedom fighter Vinayak Damodar Savarkar had attempted an escape from captivity on July 8, 1910, while he was being transported on board the British ship Morea to India to stand trial.
He is known to have slipped out of the ship’s porthole and managed to swim ashore before being captured by the French authorities and then handed back into the custody of the British ship authorities. It triggered a major diplomatic row as Savarkar went on to be sentenced to life imprisonment at Cellular Jail in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
This was PM Modi’s sixth visit to France. On the second leg of his two-nation tour, PM Modi will travel to the US from France.
(With inputs from agencies)
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Modi and Macron: A special friendship marked by extraordinary gestures as seen in Paris, Marseille
