France’s president on Friday awarded the country’s top honour to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the start of Bastille Day celebrations where he is the featured guest.
Emmanuel Macron awarded Modi the grand cross of the Legion d’Honneur (Legion of Honour), the highest grade of France’s order of merit that “salutes the role of the prime minister in the excellent relations of friendship and confidence that unite France and India”, the presidency said in a statement.
Modi said on Twitter that he had accepted the award “with great humility”, hailing it as “an honour for the 1.4 billion residents of India”.
The honouring of Modi this year reflects deepening ties between France and India, which are marking 25 years of “strategic partnership”.
Modi called Macron his “friend” in a speech to Indians living in France on Thursday evening.
“This closeness is not limited to just the leaders of two countries, it is in fact a reflection of the unwavering friendship between India and France,” Modi said.
The Indian defence ministry on Thursday announced its intention to procure another 26 French-made Rafale fighter jets as well as three more Scorpene-class submarines in a deal expected to be worth billions of euros.
Despite differences over the war in Ukraine and tensions over human rights in India, Western democracies are courting Modi and India as a military and economic counterweight to China.
Macron’s red carpet welcome comes weeks after Modi was given the rare honour of a White House state dinner in Washington — a city he was once banned from visiting.
Macron told a meeting of military leaders on Thursday evening that India was “a giant of world history which will have a decisive role for our future”.
